


My Angel, You Will Never Walk Alone

by Shunkan_Romantica



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Angst, Baby, Character Development, Developing Relationship, Drag Queens, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Secrets, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Lies, M/M, Medical Examination, Medical Procedures, Mpreg, Pregnant, Pregnant Danny, Secrets, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2019-12-26 03:29:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 103,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18274865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shunkan_Romantica/pseuds/Shunkan_Romantica
Summary: Danny had sex with the person he swore he would never, ever touch.He didn't think there would be consequences, but he was wrong, so wrong. He never expected for his body to betray him in every possible way imaginable, making him go through things he never thought possible. How long will Danny be able to keep what happened and its consequences a secret, to protect one of the most important people in his life?





	1. That Fateful Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.  
> Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction. It is not real.  
> We can even say it's about people with the same names as the ones mentioned in the tags, in an alternate universe.  
> Most importantly, this work was not written with the intention of offending or hurting anyone. Those are the last things I would ever want this work to cause.  
> .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Had it not been for the light coming through the windows, he would still be asleep.

He turned around trying to wrap himself in the white sheets feeling their softness throughout his entire body. He was naked.

His head hurt really bad from the massive amount of alcohol he had had the previous night. He placed a hand on his still closed eyes trying to get away from the brightness. He then stretched his free arm upwards and let it fall to the bed. The odd part of that meaningless movement was that his arm did not fall on the bed, but it hit the back of a person next to him. As soon as he felt the other person's body he flinched and quickly pulled his hand towards his chest. He tried to open his eyes as fast as he could though it was hard due to the brightness of the room and his massive headache. The first thing he saw was the room he was in, all the furniture was white, and it was not the place of someone he knew, he had never been there before and that made him nervous. Then he looked at the back of the person lying next to him.

_He knew who he was._

So many other nights they would sleep together when he was way too drunk and tired to go back to his own room.

He didn’t remember anything from last night, so the first thing he felt was relief that he was with someone he trusted. Right now, he just needed water and something for the headache. He slowly sat up and that's when that awful sharp pain hit him like knives to his lower back. It stung so bad, he knew well that particular kind of pain.

He placed a hand on his back and the other to the bed to help himself stand. He was so confused. Why did it hurt? He couldn’t figure it out. He looked at the man on the bed and then at his naked self, going back and forth trying to think of all the possibilities of what might have happened for him to have ended up like that.

Danny knew for a fact that he didn’t have sex with the person on the bed, so that wasn’t even a possibility. He was just a friend, one of the best, and that was all there was to it. He considered that maybe he had fallen down at some point during the night and then his friend had brought him to his place since he was so wasted. But why was he naked? Had he been so fucked up that he didn't let anybody dress him up? If that was the case, then his dirty clothes must be somewhere. He straightened up enough to walk a couple of steps so he could look for his clothes.

That’s when suddenly he felt it drip. He felt a warm substance trail its way down his legs.

In that exact moment, all other possibilities were gone out the window, except for that one he had thought impossible. He gasped and opened his eyes wide. ‘There’s no fucking way…’ he thought. But there was no mistaking it, cum was still dripping from his behind. He looked at the other man and through the white sheets he could see him naked as well.

He closed his eyes. “No… No! This didn’t happen.” He whispered as he grabbed his hair almost pulling it. “Fuck!” He couldn't believe it, last night he had fucked his dearest friend.

How did it get to this?


	2. It Never Happened

He couldn’t face him right now.

It was way too awkward for him, facing his friend and have a conversation he knew as adults they needed to have. Carefully and slowly he tiptoed away from the bed as not to wake him. He found his clothes scattered around the room, he put them on as quietly as his dizziness let him and walked out. Once outside, he couldn’t help peeking inside once again, checking out for the last time what it felt like the crime scene. Sadly, to his dismay he saw his phone on the night stand. “Fuck!” he whispered facepalming himself. He silently went back to get it and made the mistake to turn it on. The screen was so bright it blinded him and it made him drop the device to the wooden floor. The sound the fall made was so loud, he thought he heard the echo of the phone touching the floor.

The person on the bed flinched at the sudden loud noise. He stirred and tried to open his eyes blinking several times since the room was so bright. By that time Danny had already run away from there, he didn’t know if he had been seen.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Roy Haylock or better known as Bianca del Rio, was at the peak of his career. He had been traveling nonstop the past year, bringing his stand-up show to Australia, Asia, Europe and finally the United States.

Last night had been his last show from his tour in America for which he went out to celebrate with some friends. He wanted to finish his tour in one of the cities he knew he could party and drink as much as he wanted with the people he appreciated the most, which was Los Angeles. He felt so incredibly grateful for everything he had and so happy for all he had accomplished, he went all out. He partied with his friends and only God knows how much he drank.

Right now he was laying on his bed trying to open his eyes as much as the brightness let him. He felt his head throbbing, and once he was able to slightly open his eyes, he saw the ceiling spinning and going from side to side which made him close them again immediately.

For a second he thought he had heard the door to his room been thrown shut. He scratched his head and thought he was imagining things, there was no way he had spent the night with somebody.

_He was in a serious relationship._

He quickly convinced himself it was still the alcohol in his system trying to make him hear things, so he did not think about it more.

His phone vibrated on the night stand next to the bed. He grabbed it, and a text read ‘How was the show? I’m bringing food’  
He looked at the time, it was almost noon. As far as he knew the person texting him lived hundreds of miles away from where he was. ‘What? Are you here?’ He just sent a reply text since he didn’t want to call him and sound like there was still alcohol in his system.

He got a quick reply. ‘Yes love, I’ll be right over.’

The only thing Roy was able to text back were heart emojis. He was feeling dreadful. His head felt like it was about to burst. What on earth had he done last night? It had been a long time since he had ended up like this. It had not been his birthday or New Years and still, he would not drink as much as to completely forget everything that happened the night before, at least not recently. Back in the day getting home completely hung over and not remembering anything the next day would have been thrilling and even satisfactory, but right now it felt so painful. Everything hurt.

About ten minutes went by and his phone vibrated again, 'Honey, I’m outside.'

He quickly stood up causing the massive headache to become worse, feeling like he was being stabbed continuously through head. He was so dizzy he had to hold on to the bed to keep walking. He completely hated feeling hung over. It only got worse once he opened the door and the bright sunlight hit him straight in the face.

“Love!” The man outside was so excited to see him. But once he saw his lover’s face he could only smile, he saw how Roy’s face was cringing reacting to the light.

“Love? Dear are you okay? Did you drink a lot last night?” He said with a sweet and caring voice.

Roy was trying to look at his lover’s face, but his brain screamed for him to shut his eyes closed. “Gah… get in quickly please.”

Roy’s guest kissed him, still tasting and smelling the alcohol on his lover’s lips. “It seems last night was quite eventful huh?”

Roy hugged his boyfriend and put almost all of his weight on him as he hugged him with his eyes closed. “Don’t even mention it please... I can’t remember a single thing.” He broke the hug and followed his boyfriend to the kitchen.

Mike put the food on the table. “Geez… should I be worried?” he smiled and lifted an eyebrow teasing him.

Roy scratched the back of his head. “Hopefully not.” he teased him back smiling.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Danny could not believe it.

Had his friend seen him leave? He prayed to anything that was holy that he had not been seen.

He was well aware that his friend was in almost a two-year relationship. He felt horrible. This was his friend of so many years. They had gone through many things together, specially one of the most life changing experiences of both of their lives. How could this happen? He knew whatever happened last night had not been entirely his fault. It takes two to tango. But still, what the hell got them into that situation? Danny could not get his head around it, no matter how hard he tried to remember, it was all completely blank. He just wished he could go back in time and tell his drunk self to not go this far.

He walked a couple of blocks from the place they had been, called up an uber and got home quickly.

During the week that followed, he had been having some trouble sleeping. Not particularly because of what had happened, but mostly because he had been having an existential crisis on what he was doing with his life. He had everything he ever wanted thanks to his success, but what now?

He loved singing, he loved drag and he loved performing. He thought he could stay doing that until the day he died but deep inside he wanted more, something special to give his life even more meaning. He had his family, they were everything to him, they were the loves of his life. As long as they were okay, he was okay too. Still, he couldn't help sometimes wondering what it felt to have a family of his own and having someone to come home to and grow old with. Thoughts like that came to his mind from time to time. Having a family of his own, that would be nice.

Maybe it was time he paid more attention to all the suitors trying to go on a date with him. What if one of them became special? He thought maybe he needed to pay more attention, lower his guard a little. Not make it only about the sex, but also about getting to know the other person better and see what that brought.

For the next few months, that's what he did. And boy it was rough.

What he had intended to be a change for the better had somehow turned out to be a complete fiasco. He had dated six different men and had ended up sleeping with five of them. It had not gone well at all and what made matters worse was that he was sick. He had been throwing up every other morning and certain smells such as weed and smoke made him nauseous. Those smells always meant fun for him but now it was torture. He knew he had to go to the doctor and get checked up, even his mom told him so, but he just didn’t want to. He knew it was childish of him to neglect himself by not doing anything about it, but he couldn’t help it. He told his mom he was fine already, but that was far from the truth.

It was a sunday morning, he was laying on his bed staring at the ceiling. He had just got back from the bathroom after the usual episode of nausea followed by vomiting. He didn’t even know what he was throwing up since he hadn’t been able to hold anything down for two days.

As he stared at the ceiling, he felt his phone vibrate.

He grabbed it and saw a text which read, ‘Danny you are really worrying me. Is everything okay?’

It was Roy.

Danny rolled his eyes. The past few months he had stopped talking to most of his friends. After what happened with one of them, he didn’t feel up to it, specially now with his health issues. ‘Yeah all good’ he typed and sent the reply.

Then his phone rang, about 5 seconds after sending the text. The screen showed a picture of him as Adore hugging with the one and only Bianca del Rio.

“Oh fuck…” he looked at the screen and rolled his eyes, he didn’t want to pick up. In other instances, when he had called before, he would not pick up and then make up excuses but now, he had just texted him so he knew Roy would be certain that he had his phone right with him. He tried to think of a believable excuse. Maybe he could tell him he was at church, but that quickly died down when he realize no one would believe that. He gave up and picked up the phone. “Hey.”

“Danny hey! Girl! What’s up? How have you been?”

“I’m doing great! How are you? It’s nice to hear you.” Half of that sentence was not a lie. Whenever he heard him he indeed felt safe and happy.

“I’m good! I’m in LA now. It’s been a while! Are you free to go grab something to eat?”

Was he free? he thought. He could have made up any excuse to avoid seeing him, but he did want to spend time with him. “Yeah sure! Where do you want to go?”

“What if I get us something to eat and we eat it at your place?”

“Yeah sure, cool!” Does that really sound ok? he kept second guessing himself when he had already said yes.

“Alright, I’ll be there in half an hour! See you there.” Roy hung up.

Danny sighed.

The thought of hanging out with a friend made him think about what had happened.

In the back of his mind, it was stuck like glue that he had had sex with one of his closest friends, and this person had no recollection whatsoever of what happened. He would hate himself if it happened again with any of the people he was close to.

These people were untouchable, they were like family.

He wondered if that was why he had been very cold towards people around him lately. At that moment he decided to forget about the incident once and for all. That was it. No more awkward texts or non answered calls. He would put everything in the past, flip the page and start over. Now… it was time to get the garbage out and clean up a little.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Roy knew something was up.

He had known him for 5 years, this was his ‘baby girl’ as he liked to call him. The past few months he had texted him only to get replies that got them nowhere and many non answered calls. Since he was in LA he decided it was time to get matters into his own hands and see for himself what was going on with Danny. What kind of friend would he be if he didn’t do anything? He really hoped everything was fine.

He pulled up at Danny’s driveway, got out of the car and headed for the door. He rang the doorbell.

Danny opened the front door, he was still in his pajamas.

“Hey!!” They both said in unison as they hugged each other.

“Girl! How are you? I haven’t seen you in forever!” Roy tried not to react at Danny’s appearance. He had sunken eyes, with deep dark circles underneath, his skin was very pale and he looked far skinnier than usual.

“Yeah! It’s been so long! How are you? Did you have a gig in LA?” Danny let Roy in and they headed towards the table.

“Good and no. I have so much to tell you. But let’s eat first! Girl! You look like you haven’t eaten in days.”

Danny only smiled to the comment, he didn’t really want to talk about that issue, at least not at that moment. They sat down and ate, just talking about the things they had done the past few months. Roy talked to him about his gigs, his travels, his relationship with Mike, his dogs. Danny was so happy to hear that everything was going well in his friend’s life. He wished he could tell him nice things about his own life too. Instead, he shared with him how uneasy he was feeling about where he was heading through life and the many failed relationships and encounters he had had with other men over the past few months.

“It was bad. He stayed over, and I woke right on time to find him taking a picture of us together in bed while I was sleeping.” He sipped his coffee. “I took his phone, deleted the picture and kicked him out.”

Roy shook his head as he took a sip of his coffee. “Fuck him. Danny, you are an amazing person. I know you will find someone who will love you for you. If you’ve had these many failed relationships over this time, maybe it’s time to lift the bar a little bit higher. I see you and it’s not doing you any good. You’ve even lost weight since last time I saw you and you look tired.” Roy said in a very concerned tone.

“I know… it just got me thinking, I…” All of a sudden Danny started breathing heavily as he placed the palms of his hand on the table trying really hard to focus to remain calm.

“Danny? Are you okay?” Roy grabbed his hand.

Danny immediately shook his head and ran towards the bathroom. Roy ran behind him. Danny threw up his entire breakfast in a matter of seconds. When he was done he first leaned on the toilet seat breathing heavily from exhaustion. Then he went next to the toilet seat and sat on the floor, his back leaning on the wall.

Roy kneeled in front of him passing him some toilet paper. “Danny are you okay?”

“Yeah…” Danny sat with one leg extended and the other one flexed, his arm leaning on his knee. “I guess I am used to it at this point.” He leaned his head towards the wall resigned.

“What do you mean? How long has this been going on?” Roy grabbed Danny’s forehead trying to check if he had a fever.

“Every other day, it sucks.”

“What? Have you seen a doctor?”

“No.” Danny shook his head and continued right before Roy could say something else. “I know it’s wrong! But I don’t know, I guess with everything going on in my head, I just didn’t feel like going.”

“You have been having protected sex right?” Roy asked very straightforward.

“Yeah! of course!” Danny lied. He had not checked if his partners had worn condoms and it sure did not feel like they did. “Why?”

“One of the symptoms of HIV is frequent vomiting.”

For a millisecond Danny's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. But then he tried really hard to hide his shock, how could he have not thought about it. Oh God, now he did want to run to go see a doctor. “I don’t think it’s that.” He tried to change the subject, even when it was still very clear in his mind. “Why don’t you help me up and we watch a movie?”

Roy stood up first and gave Danny a hand. “But promise me you will go see a doctor?”

“Promise.” He was definitely gonna do that now.

“C’mon, I’ll make you hot tea.”

They went to Danny’s living room and watched Netflix.

Danny was not feeling well, he felt this burning sensation on his chest the entire time. He really tried to not think about it. When it was time for lunch they decided to order pizza. Roy didn’t like the idea and offered to go get him some soup. But Danny thought he could give pizza a try, he loved pizza and he didn’t want to worry or bother Roy even more.

Danny ate it very slowly, as to try to keep it down. He had about two slices when that horrible familiar burning sensation increased immensely and he had to make a run for the bathroom.

If Roy was worried before, now he was deeply concerned.

Danny was bent over the toilet, emptying the contents of his stomach and Roy was kneeling next to him, whispering in his ear “It’s alright, it’s going to be okay, let it out.”

When Danny was done, he felt so exhausted. With Roy's help, he managed to sit with his back against the wall. 

“Danny how long have you been like this? Did it happen yesterday?” Roy said as he softly put Danny's hair behind his ears. 

“Yeah… it’s been going on nonstop since the day before yesterday, Fuck! I hate vomit smell.”

“What?” Roy didn’t know it was this bad. "It has gotten worse, that means you haven’t eaten anything at all for three days. That’s not good, we have to get you to the emergency room.”

Danny freaked out when he heard the words 'Emergency Room.' For a second he thought of refusing but then he thought on what Roy had said before. It could be HIV, he had had unprotected sex, and if that was the case he could not postpone it any longer. Besides there was not an ounce of strength in him anymore, he had reached bottom. “Fine. I can’t do this anymore.”

Roy helped Danny up and drove him to the emergency department.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I saw RPDR season 6, I loved the chemistry between Bianca and Adore.  
> Back in 2015 when I finished watching that season, I wrote what became the first chapter of this story. Finally, now that I got some free time, I was able to write it entirely, adding that little extra you see in the tags.  
> Obviously, I don't know them so their personas in this story are mostly based on the things they have made public about themselves.  
> And finally once agan, this work was not made to make fun of or offend anybody. It is only a product of my imagination.  
> Thank you for taking the time to read it and next chapter will be up as soon as I'm done editing it.


	3. The Unimaginable

Once at the ER, they had to wait about an hour to be seen by a doctor. 

When the doctor came, he asked Danny some questions and examined him throughly. He determined he was moderately dehydrated, so they put an IV in him and was restricted from eating or drinking anything until further notice. After about half an hour of being hooked up to fluids, he felt so much better already. He got some blood samples taken, urine and stool as well. They were told it could take a couple of hours to receive the results so they stayed in the room. It amazed Danny the improvement the IV made for him, he was feeling so much better that he got comfortable and fell sleep for about two hours. 

Roy stayed next to him the entire time. It broke his heart to see his friend sleeping in a very thin stretcher, so still, so pale and so exhausted. He was going to call Danny’s mom as soon as they got to the hospital, but Danny forbid him of doing so. He didn’t want to worry or upset his mom, he knew she would be upset from delaying this doctor visit so much. Roy only told him that if things got serious he would do it anyway.

Two more hours went by and Danny was slowly starting to wake up. He already felt like his usual self, and was becoming very impatient for the results of his tests, specially that one HIV test that would determine his fate.

“I feel better now, I want to go home.” Danny said nervously.

“That’s not up to you.” Roy smiled.

There was a knock on the door, and soon afterwards the doctor came in. 

“Hello, how is our patient?” Their doctor looked very young. He had introduced himself as Dr. Jones when he first saw them.

Danny was very grateful towards him. “I feel a lot better now, thanks.”

“That’s good! Do you still feel nauseous? Does it still hurt?”

“No, nothing hurts now, I feel a lot better. I’m actually hungry.” Danny said with a smile.

“That’s even better!” The doctor then went to the computer in the room, looked at the screen for little while and looked back at Danny. “Alrighty then, may I have a word with the patient in private please?” He looked at Roy now.

“Yes, sure.” Roy stood up to leave looking at Danny. “I’ll be right outsi…”

Danny suddenly interrupted him. “No, it’s okay. Can he stay? He's alright.” If Danny was going to receive the news he was HIV positive, he did not want to be alone at this time.

Roy could tell Danny did not want to be left alone to hear what the doctor was going to say, so he stayed with him and sat back down.

“Alright.” The doctor cleared his throat. “Mr. Noriega, we have checked your results, to see what's been causing this constant vomiting you’ve been having, and all the tests we did for that look absolutely normal.”

“Oh! Thank God! so I don’t have HIV?” Danny asked wide eyed and relieved.

The doctor checked the computer and scrolled down, “Nope, that came out negative.” 

Danny’s soul came back to his body. He was so afraid he had caught it, now whatever it was he had, he knew he would get cured. 

“Your electrolytes are somewhat low, but that is due to the constant vomiting you’ve been having, we are getting that treated with the fluids you are receiving right now, hence why you feel better.”

Danny and Roy nodded.

The doctor let go of he mouse and gave consecutive taps to the table with his fingers. “Also, I have to inform you about an incident in the lab that led us to an incidental finding in your results. There was a mix up in the lab and your samples were checked for hormone levels in your blood. Since we thought you had a bad case of gastroenteritis, we weren’t looking for any alterations in particular regarding your hormone levels, but once we read those results, one of them took us by surprise.” 

Now both Danny and Roy were paying full attention to the doctor.

“Your hCG levels are extremely high.”

‘Oh great…’ Danny thought, freaking out on the inside. He didn’t even know what that was, but he already felt the suspense he felt before, when he thought he had HIV. Danny frowned, having absolutely no idea what that was. 

“What does that mean?” Roy asked. Danny was about ask the same thing.

“hCG is a hormone that only elevates during pregnancy.”

Both Danny and Roy frowned as their jaws dropped puzzled. 

“What?” Danny exclaimed, his eyes blinking rapidly from the confusion of receiving such unexpected news.

“Exactly. That was our same reaction. We are going to do a bit more testing to figure out why is the hCG so high. After we got this result positive on blood,  just to make sure we run it on your urine as well and it came positive.” The doctor nodded.

“What could possibly cause this?” Roy asked concerned.

“The only conditions known that cause an elevation in this hormone is pregnancy and a tumor related to pregnancy so in his case, we really don’t know.”

Danny and Roy looked at each other, Danny was so confused. The doctor's words had started out okay and now he had become a medical mystery. What the fuck was happening to him?

“Right now we are going to take one more blood sample to check these results one more time, and while we wait for those we are going to take an ultrasound.”

Danny nodded as a nurse approached him to get a new blood sample. Once he was done with that he was then given some forms to sign and then along with Roy, he was immediately wheeled in to the imaging lab. He still could not believe this was happening, it was all so strange for him. Roy had been with him for the entire day, he was so grateful to have him there. He wouldn’t have been able to keep it together had it not been for him. He got on the table as the technician told him to lift his shirt up and lower his pants. He did as he was told leaving his midsection fully uncovered. The technician then put a cold gel on the surface of his abdomen and immediately after, she placed the transducer probe of the ultrasound machine on top of it. 

Neither Danny nor Roy could speak, they were so intimidated by the number of people in the room with them. There were about six other people with them staring attentively at the ultrasound screen. Danny and Roy were so also very focused on the screen, even though they could not tell absolutely anything apart. First they checked his upper abdominal organs, it all seemed alright since the doctors and the ultrasound technician just nodded. Then the technician reached his middle abdominal region, first the sides then the middle section which by judging by the people's reactions seemed to be normal as well. 

It was all good until the technician reached Danny's lower abdomen. Whatever it was the doctors and nurses saw on the screen, made them let out a small gasp. Danny could tell the technician was also surprised at what she was seeing. He felt the technician putting more pressure on the probe close to his pubic bone, she was narrowing her eyes trying to focus on the screen. That was it for Danny. He knew there was something wrong. He noticed how shocked the medical practitioners were, they widened their eyes and kept gasping and whispering among them. 

“Is everything alright?” Danny asked.

“Just give us a minute sir, we just want to make sure…”  The technician pressed some buttons on the machine and then many whooshing sounds were heard, after a few seconds only the rhythmic sound of a galloping horse echoed in the room. It was fast and steady. 

“Oh my god, what is that?” Danny whispered to Roy. 

Roy looked at him and shook his head not knowing the answer. Roy then looked back at the screen and made a motion with his hand towards Danny telling him to be patient.

“It is a small one right?” The doctor asked the technician.

“It’s walls are very very thin, but… I mean… It’s right there and it has content.” The ultrasound technician pointed her finger touching the screen as she nodded.

“Alright.” The doctor let out a long and deep sigh and looked at both men. “Mr. Noriega, I really don’t know how to say this.”

Danny had the most confused look Roy had ever seen on him.

The doctor then went close to Danny and the screen. He placed a finger on the flat surface of the screen and then looked back at Danny. “This on the screen, it’s a baby.” 

Danny's expression was pure confusion. He thought he had heard wrong and was about to ask the doctor to repeat himself. He didn't need to though because the doctor went on.

“It seems, you are pregnant.” The doctor said giving him a sympathetic look.

Time stopped for Danny. His eyes became lost, his face went pale and he could feel every inch of his skin turn ice cold in a matter of seconds. 

Roy was at a loss of words, he was completely shocked.  Roy looked back at the screen again narrowing his eyes and when he saw it, he thought to himself how the hell did he miss it. Right there in the monitor there was the silhouette of a baby. You could clearly see the head, its belly, and right in the middle of the chest a little flutter that was in sync with the heartbeat echoing in the room. Roy pressed Danny’s hand tighter as he looked at the younger man. Danny seemed lost, confused.

There was about 20 seconds of complete silence as Danny's eyes went from the doctor to the screen several times. On his mind he could see the doctor’s lips moving in slow motion, as he said those last five words over and over. _'It seems, you are pregnant.'_ The sentence was still resonating in his head. When he finally came back to his senses, he felt his hand being pressed by Roy who was looking at him very worried. 

“No that can't be right! ” Danny was very mad, he flipped. “That’s ridiculous! It’s impossible! How could I be? I am a boy!” He said raising his voice. 

The doctor could understand Danny’s distress. “What we are listening right now is your baby’s heartbeat, and as you can see here…” he pointed towards the screen again. “This is the fetus. What’s the gestational age?” The doctor said to the technician.

“It’s giving me about 13 weeks +/-2 weeks since it’s this far along.”

Danny’s breathing became faster, he could not believe what he was listening to. “What? Weeks? No… this is not fucking happening.” He placed his free hand on his forehead covering his eyes.  Before going to the emergency room he was scared about the HIV test being positive, but now he just found out he was pregnant. 'Pregnant? What the fuck?' He thought. This couldn’t be real.

Roy was extremely worried for Danny, he placed his other hand on top of Danny’s and trying to comfort him. “What does this mean? How’s this possible?” Roy said looking at the doctor, he was trying to remain objective so that they could get answers.

The doctor sighed. “This is a very delicate subject. Please I need you to remain calm so you can understand what I am about to tell you. Both of you.”

Danny was still breathing heavily but he wanted answers and he wanted them immediately. So he tried to calm down, took a deep breath and nodded.

“We have already taken samples of your blood and we are going to check for your kariotype. Your kariotype will tell us whether you were genetically born as a man or a woman. There are conditions referred to as pseudohermaphroditism in which even though let’s say we have a woman… she looks like a woman, she feels like a woman, all her life she has lived like a woman… but has the kariotype XY which is the one of a man.”

Roy understood the doctor. “So you mean to say… that he might actually be a woman? like… on the inside?”

“Yes, technically.” The doctor nodded.

Danny was dumbfounded, he started shaking his head slowly. “I don’t know what to say.” Danny's hand was still on his forehead. “So you are telling me, all my life I've actually been a woman?"

"Genetically." The doctor made that very clear. "Your body was, let's say programmed to be a woman but due to this condition, you started developing male characteristics."

"So--  I might have female body parts?”

“Well… you certainly have them. There is an uterus in your body. Its walls are very thin, but it's there and it’s a miracle that baby has survived this long.”

The word _‘baby’_ resonated in Danny’s head as he unconsciously repeated it out-loud. “Baby. Oh my god...”

“It’s a probability that your uterus before it was impregnated, was atrophied, since that’s very common in this type of condition.” 

The doctor made a motion to the ultrasound technician telling her to wrap it up. Once they finished the ultrasound, Roy helped Danny sit on the table.

“But-- I don’t have a vagina. I only practice anal. How did it even get there?”

“We can’t see that through an ultrasound and we can’t practice a CAT scan since it might hurt the baby. We could do an MRI. We need to study you Mr. Noriega and for that reason, we are admitting you.”

Danny widened his eyes having been caught off guard. “Oh no- no- no- no.” Danny waved towards the doctor with both hands. “Right now I need to go home and think. I don’t need this.” He stated firmly.

Roy knew Danny, he knew that staying in the hospital would drive him crazy, specially with everything that they just got informed of.

The doctor sighed. “If you don’t want to stay, you can sign a voluntary discharge document Sir. but I would really recommend you to stay, so we can find out more about your condition, monitor you and take the necessary precautions for it.”

Danny didn’t even have the mental strength to argue and gave Roy a pleading look. Roy knew his friend, he knew Danny needed time to get his thoughts straightened. He knew that Danny needed medical care as well but, if his mental state was not alright, then his hospital stay would be torture. 

Roy decided to intervene for him. “Doctor, I do get why he needs to stay, but I know him and right now he needs time to think and get his thoughts in order. He will sign the voluntary discharge document and I can sign it as well as a witness. My question is, if we want to continue this study, where should we go? Do we need to make an appointment? Where do we go from here?” 

“Well, it really would be for the better if he stayed. But if he really wants to leave, then you must bring him back immediately if he keeps vomiting everything he eats, if there is rectal bleeding or if he feels there is something not right at all, he should immediately come back. But still, even if he is alright, he has to make an appointment with this doctor." He wrote down a name in a piece of paper and handed it to Roy. “She will inform you about the options regarding this pregnancy and everything else.” 

Some words still resonated in Roy’s head. _‘Rectal bleeding’, ‘his pregnancy’_. It sounded scary but he couldn't let it intimidate him. He needed to remain objective for Danny. “Alright, we’ll do that then. Thank you doctor.” Roy said shaking the doctor's hand.

Danny shook the doctor's hand absentmindedly. He didn’t even thank him or looked at him again. He was just staring at the pictures the ultrasound technician had printed and given him. He looked so lost.  As soon as he was back in his emergency room, Danny broke down. He started sobbing. Roy hugged him tightly. “The worst news I was expecting to get was that I was HIV positive. What the fuck is this?” He raised his voice between sobs. He was so confused, so mad and so helpless.

“It’s alright you are going to get through this.” Roy caressed his curly hair. “We are gonna be okay.” 

Once they signed the voluntary discharge documents, they were free to go. The drive home was very quiet. Roy knew Danny was going to be able to get through this but right now he needed to grasp everything he had been told. He just wanted to be close by in case he needed someone to lean on.  

Once home, Danny went straight to bed. He stated he wanted to be left alone. Meanwhile Roy went downstairs to do some cleaning, it was close to midnight and the pizza they had had for lunch was still on the countertop. 

Danny laid on the bed, he couldn’t sleep. This felt like the worst nightmare ever and the worst part was that he was completely awake. He tried to recall what happened in the doctor’s office. He kind of understood he was some sort of pseudohermaphrodite, he wondered how could that even exist. He couldn’t help to think of himself as a freak. All his life he knew he had been born a boy. Then when he reached puberty, he came to terms with his sexuality, his androgynous condition and his gender fluidity.  Never would he have thought that he could genetically be a woman. He had so many questions. Was this why he identified as a girl through high school? Was this why he played with dolls as a child? He was so confused. At the moment, that was what was making him the most upset, figuring out what his body was. 

Then there was the other thing. I t gave him goosebumps to even think about it. He started tearing up out of fear when he reminded himself what was actually happening. 

Then all of a sudden, something he hadn't even considered came to his mind making him freeze.

_ Who was the father?  _

“Oh no.” He whispered, bringing a hand to his mouth. 

He had no idea who the father was. The past few months all he had wereone-night-stands and he knew nothing about those guys. As far as he could remember the doctor said he was about 13 weeks give or take two, which was about three or four months at the most, he counted with his fingers. 

He had had sex five of six guys he dated. Two were within the month, so that ruled them out. Then the other two were the month prior, so that ruled them out as well. That left only two, right? He knew contacting them was most likely not going to happen. It might not be impossible to search for them since he met them in a gay bar and there was a chance he might encounter them again in one of those. But how could he tell a stranger that he was… No! he couldn’t even think about it. 

In the middle of his train of thought, there was a knock on the door. 

“Come in” 

Roy came inside the room and sat on the bed. “How are you doing? Do you want to talk about anything?” He was very gentle with him. 

Danny was sitting on the bed, hugging his knees. “No, not really no.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe this is happening to me. I am the freak the bullies said I was.” 

Roy got closer and hugged him. “No, don’t say that, you are not a freak. You know we, as gay people, know better than anyone what it’s like to be different. Finding out about this condition you might have, will not change who you are. No matter what your genes say, you are and always will be the Danny we all have come to love.” 

“Have come to love?” Danny let out a smile. "What? You didn’t love me before?"

“No, not really.” Roy smiled back, making Danny laugh.

“Thank you.” Danny grabbed a tissue and blew his nose. 

“Alright I’m going to get us something to eat, I'm going to get the crackers the doctor said you should eat.”

Danny nodded. “Yes, I hope I can keep that down. I'm hungry.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.” Roy said leaving the room.

Danny was so grateful to have him there. Even though most of the time he was out of the country going on tour with his show and on TV, he had always made time for him even after all this time when he had been distant and cold with him over-- 

Danny suddenly froze. He felt himself turning cold as he started to slowly hyperventilate. He gasped widening his eyes, feeling the cold sweat all over his body. He quickly run up to the window and saw Roy get into his car and leave.

_ That morning, about three months ago, he had woken up next to Roy, cum dripping from him. He left right before the older man could wake up. He shook his head grabbing his hair. _

_ There was a chance Roy was the father of the baby.  _

He wished he could disappear in that instant. If he thought there had been a worst case scenario, this was it. No, this was even worse than that. 

He had slept with his dearest friend Roy, that one time he wanted to forget so bad, and now there were consequences. He felt terrible. How could he tell him something like this happened when the man didn’t even have any memory of how it came to be. Earlier in the day he made the decision to forget about it, but now? What was he going to do now? Tears just started flowing, his hands shook as he texted Roy.

Roy was driving when he got the text. ‘My mom just came, I need to talk to her alone, please.’ 

He knew Danny was going through what was probably the hardest chapter in his life. He was happy that he was so close to his family and he was sure they were not going to let him go through this alone. 

‘Good luck baby, if you need anything just let me know’ he sent his reply.

Danny needed to be alone, he couldn’t face Roy, not at this time, not ever. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we get to the core of the story. Things will get very dramatic from here on, and some chapters will hurt. Danny is in a very delicate situation right now. What should he do? What is he going to do? It's even hard for me to picture myself in that kind of situation, I really don't know what I would do. We'll see his decision in the next chapter, as soon as I'm done editing.  
> Thanks for the kudos! Your comments are greatly appreciated!


	4. Decisions

A couple of days had passed and Danny was calmer now. 

He was at home having some salty crackers, that was pretty much the only thing that didn’t make him nauseous. He was lying on the sofa in the living room, staring at the ceiling reminiscing what he had been told on his doctor’s appointment. 

He had gone back to the doctor the following day after he came back from the ER, to get more details about his condition. He couldn’t postpone it any longer, not after he made the mistake to look up his condition online and many things he didn't understand came up, making him even more worried. He had to get proper answers from an expert in the field as soon as possible. After all, this was his body on the line.

Once back in the hospital, he was referred to an OBGYN specialized in Reproductive Endocrinology. He had never heard about that branch in medicine. When the doctor came in, he was very surprised to see that she looked very young. She was probably two years older than him at the most, very tiny and skinny. For some reason he was expecting a really old person as his doctor. As soon as she came in, she was smiling to Danny. She introduced herself as Dr. Rodriguez and she told him she would be in charge of his prenatal care. He felt very positive vibes coming from her, so he felt like he could trust her and that made him feel safe. 

They sat down and talked for almost an hour. 

He understood his current diagnosis was Female Pseudohermaphroditism, which meant genetically he was female but his external organs were those from a male. How did it happen? That was still in discussion among the scientific community the doctor said. The results from the blood test would confirm this diagnosis if the results of his karyotype came back 46XX, instead of 46XY. Still there was something bigger that was already confirming his diagnosis, it was huge actually but technically right now it was very small. 

_He was pregnant._

The doctor told him he was the first case ever reported. Pretty much everyone with the condition were infertile and could not conceive. 

At the time of the physical exam, the doctor had checked every single inch of Danny’s entire body, from the strands of his hair to his most private parts.  The doctor examined his abdomen, she palpated it first superficially then she put some pressure on her fingers. Danny hadn’t really felt much when he touched his own belly, or better said, he hadn’t wanted to touch it after his ER visit. She then grabbed a measuring tape and pressed it firmly towards his pubic bone with one hand and pulled it with the other stopping right below his navel and pressing on him with the side of her little finger. 

Danny felt both of her hands touching the small convex surface of his abdomen. He looked down and saw his belly, it was about the size of a softball or maybe slightly bigger, and from the way the doctor touched it, it was also hard as well since he felt some pressure.  He still had not gathered the courage to touch it, or even look at it, at times. 

Then the doctor looked for the heartbeat with the heart monitor. She took a while but indeed she found it. 

He didn’t know what came over him, but for some reason listening to it, made him smile. It was so loud, fast, rhythmic and strong. He would never forget the doctor’s words. 

_“Nice and steady, 144 beats per minute, this little one sure is holding on.”_

The doctor then realized what she had just said and covered her mouth. She apologized since she didn’t know if Danny was going to keep it or not, but Danny wasn’t paying attention, on his mind that one sentence was in repeat. 

Afterwards they sat on the desk again and Danny was informed about everything related to the pregnancy. The doctor told him this was a very high risk pregnancy and that it was a miracle that it had already gone this far. 

They talked about some theories of how he became pregnant. The most likely one, was that there was a fistula between his vagina and his colon. As tiny as it may have been, it allowed for conception. What the doctor couldn’t figure out was why it hadn’t become infected. She told him she thought that maybe the fistula formed right around the time he had had sex and it closed by itself right after conception when his body, as a consequence, started to change. He was given an order to have an MRI taken so that they could find out more about Danny’s anatomy which would later help if he decided to keep the baby. The doctor continued telling him that if the fistula at some point opened up again, then he would be very prone to getting an infection from bacteria in the colon and this would definitely cause a spontaneous abortion. 

Also, even though he was female genetically, he had high levels of male hormones circulating in his blood which were incompatible with pregnancy. That was why his condition went undiagnosed for so many years. He was going to get some blood samples taken to get his hormone levels measured, because if he decided to keep the pregnancy, then these male hormones would have to be medically suppressed and he would have to take a dose of female hormones to boast them up and keep the pregnancy. 

There were also other possible complications, and the most important one was hemorrhaging. In the report of the first ultrasound, it mentioned that his uterus had thin walls. This was also another cause of concern because a thin walled uterus might not stretch enough to carry a full-term baby, resulting in a miscarriage. He was told if he started bleeding randomly no matter the quantity, to call her as soon as possible and to head to the closest ER. 

Everything the doctor had explained to him so far, applied if he wanted to keep the baby. The other option was terminating the pregnancy and he wanted to be informed about that issue as well. 

He was told that if he took that route, since the fetus was already past the 12-week mark, then he would need to get surgery done to remove it. He would stay in the hospital for only a day after surgery and he would be back to his normal self in about three weeks later. He was advised to make a decision as soon as possible.

The doctor said that she would like to have Danny admitted until the day of the birth, to have 24-hour supervision on him. They didn’t have previous records of a case like this and they didn’t know what could happen. Danny strongly refused, saying he would go insane if he were to be in the hospital for so long. He claimed responsibility of this decision and he signed a document stating so.

After their talk, Danny was still a bit shaken to be going through this type of situation but now that he knew the facts, it changed things. He knew what his options were and now he had to make a decision.

A couple of days later after he found out, he felt he was coming to terms with his situation. He really had needed time to let everything sink in. His reality now didn't feel as shocking as it first felt and it didn't make him cry anymore. He was done crying.

Danny was laying on a sofa. Without realizing it, he had finished an entire box of crackers. He looked at the empty boxes of crackers next to the sofa and sighed. The doctor advised him to eat them and that’s all he ate ever since he came from the emergency room. He had been very successful in keeping them down, but he was also afraid to try something else just in case he started throwing up again.

He stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. He knew for a fact that this piece of news about his body was not going to change absolutely who he was. By no means would this change the way he thought of himself, he would always be gender fluid, no matter what. Some days he loved wearing make up and others he liked the feel of his beard. 

Then the more he thought about the whole situation, it all came down to one thing: _The baby._

He figured that first he needed to make the most important decision, then everything would fall into place and that decision was whether to keep the baby or not.  He couldn’t lie to himself, he had always wanted children. 

He wanted to pass on everything his mom taught him on to somebody he loved, just as much as his mom loved him. He closed his eyes and he could see himself in the future holding a little one’s hand crossing the street and running after him or her in the park. The simple thought of it made him smile and involuntarily he placed his hand in his lower abdomen.  He also thought about what a kid would mean for his current lifestyle. He would have to make major changes, no more parties, no more weed or beer and he would definitely need to work more to support this child for the rest of his life. 

All of a sudden he became aware where his hand was. He hadn't noticed before his hand was on mid section. He placed a hand lower in his abdomen feeling like he was touching a small ball inside him.

Then the doctor’s words resonated in his head. _‘Nice and steady, 144 beats per minute, this little one sure is holding on.’_

He continued staring at the ceiling thoughtful. He then realized he was smiling. The thought of a baby of his own made him smile. “Are you really holding on?” He whispered now looking at his small bump. 

He had always been pro-choice, he firmly believed it was up to the person whether parenthood was for them or not. Unexpectedly, now it was his turn to make that decision. For some reason Danny couldn't get out of his head the doctor's words ' _this little one sure is holding on.'_ He thought if the baby was really holding on, then he would just give it chance. He knew the odds were against him and that there hadn't been other cases as his own reported but something inside him told him he had to give this baby a chance. 

He couldn’t believe it had been so easy for him to make a decision of this caliber.  ‘I guess it’s gonna be you and I, huh?’ he thought as he drew circles with his finger on his belly.

He then stood up, grabbing one unopened box of crackers and went upstairs to his room to watch TV when his phone vibrated. It was a text from Roy asking him if he could go over to visit him. He quickly replied saying he was going to visit his cousins.  He had gone back to being cold and distant with Roy.  Even though it had been a week since he last saw him. He texted him everyday to not make him worried and tried to keep him away as best as he could, even when he insisted on coming over to keep him company or bring some food. He knew he meant well but he still hadn’t come to terms with that other issue.

He flipped the channels and he stopped on some music channel, just because he heard Amy Winehouse's voice. While he heard her sing, he thought about the possible fathers of his baby. 

Yes, now it was _his baby._

There was a chance the baby was conceived in a one night stand with two other strangers. Then there was the other possibility, he was having Roy’s baby. Either way, no matter what, he was going to provide everything this child needed. He would be the best father he could be for him or her. 

If the father was one of the strangers, then the baby would be his and only his. He would look for this person for the sake of this child a some point, but he would do it later on. He did not think of it as a priority since he was going to be the primary caretaker of the baby.

But if the father was Roy, things would get far more complicated. 

Roy had already a set path in life. He was in a formal and stable relationship, he had an amazing performing career and most importantly, he had no recollection of the night they conceived the baby. After that night, some bits and pieces came to Danny’s head confirming what had happened. But Roy still didn’t remember, and three months had already passed since the incident.  At the rate things were going it seemed like he would never remember. He wondered how could he tell him that he was probably expecting his child, when he didn’t even know how it happened. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t find the words or the way to tell him, his mind was blank. 

But he knew one thing for sure. If indeed the baby was his, then he had every right to know about his child, and Danny was very conscious about it. If it had been the other way around, he would have wanted to know everything about his child. 

He gave the issue a lot of thought and after taking everything into consideration, _he decided he was not going to tell him about him being the possible father of the baby._ Or at least not yet.

He could not ruin his friend’s life. If his partner found out Roy had cheated on him with Danny, it would be the end of them. He couldn’t have that happen when there was still a chance that the baby was not even his to begin with. He made up his mind, and he made the decision that once the baby was born, he would take a DNA test to figure out if Roy was the father. If he indeed was the father then he would tell him. For the time being he would have him as involved as possible in the pregnancy. If he ended up being the father then he was going to make sure he had memories of the entire experience, for him and for the baby.

He had to figure out a way of getting him involved, without it being too suspicious and getting people to think he was the father. 

‘God, this is going to be so complicated’ he sighed rolling his eyes. 

Then there was his family.

He knew they would all freak out, and probably react the way he reacted the day he found out about everything. The doctor had shared some links of articles he could read, to find out more about his condition and he had read most of them so he felt pretty knowledgeable about it and also capable of answering the questions that might arise. 

First and foremost, he would need to break the news to his mom. He felt nervous, but deep down he knew that it was going to be okay. His mom had been by his side through absolutely everything and he kept no secrets from her. He actually missed not having her by his side at the moment. The thing he was most nervous about, was telling her about not knowing who the father was. 

He couldn’t help feeling sorry about it, not only to his mom but also to his child.

Still, he had to tell her anyway. He had been avoiding her all week and he missed her. First, he had needed to come to terms with the situation on his own and now that he had already done that, he needed to tell his mom. 

He didn’t want to waste any more time so he took a shower, got dressed and drove to his mom’s house. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there you have it. Danny has decided to keep the baby and also not tell Roy about it.  
> Things are going to get very ugly at some point, but it's still a while till we get there. I know he should really tell him everything but I can't imagine how hard it must be to do so. It makes me cringe every time I think about it.  
> Also this condition "Female Pseudohermaphroditism" is actually true, like I mentioned the people that have this condition are infertile. I had a patient with this condition but it was the other way around, Male Pseudohermaphroditism. She had female genitalia (like any other woman, I swear you couldn't tell) but when we got her blood tested for karyotype, she was 46XY (male). It was very sad, she was trying for children with her husband at the time of her diagnosis.  
> I figured this is how we could explain Danny's female organs, with the difference that in this story he is able to have conceive.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next one should be up by thursday or friday at the most. We'll introduce Danny's mom to this story and her reaction to all of this.  
> Thank you for reading & your comments are greatly appreciated!


	5. Mom

Once back home, he felt comforted already just by being in the place he grew up in.

He got out of the car and walked towards the door. He ringed the doorbell and after a few seconds, his mom opened the door and left him there to go back to the kitchen. "Hi Dan! My salsa is going to burn!" 

Danny started laughing as he got inside and closed the door behind him. His brother was in the living room laying on the couch checking his phone, he greeted him and then went to the kitchen. He saw his mom standing in front of the stove stirring a pot. He went close to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling her curly hair on the surface of his cheek and closed his eyes. He had missed her so much. 

"Mom I missed you! It smells so good!" He had only been eating crackers for the past few days, the smell of his mom's food was heaven for him. 

"I missed you too!" She said as she placed some enchiladas in plates.

"Mom I have something very important to tell you." He said very casually, like knowing what his mom was going to say.

She laughed as she finished serving the food. "What? You're pregnant?" 

Danny knew she always said this whenever he told her he had to tell her something. He thought it was so ironic that this time it was actually true, so he just fake laughed at the comment and let his mom laugh. "Yes mom." He said, knowing she still wouldn't believe him, he closed his eyes and hugged her tighter.

"Dan don't be stupid. Now get off me, and get this to the table.” Bonnie broke free from Danny's embrace and handed him a plate filled with enchiladas. "Let's go eat."

Danny grabbed the plate and followed his mom to the table, where they sat together with his brother. He was glad he didn’t feel nauseous while eating his food. He just hoped he kept feeling that way after dinner. They talked about their week and the interesting things that had happened throughout it. He was happy to talk something not baby related for a couple of hours but he knew that it wouldn’t last long. After helping his mom with the dishes and saying bye to his brother, he thought that it was time.

They were sitting on the sofa right next to each other with a blanket covering their legs. They were watching Netflix but Danny was hardly paying any attention to the TV, he was trying to order his thoughts on how he was going to proceed telling his mom what was going on with him. 

“Mom, I need to tell you something very important.”

"What is it Danny?" She gave him a quick glance and then looked back again at the screen. 

“Oh my God-- Where do I start?” He looked at the ceiling and sighed. “Alright. The other day I had to go to the emergency room.”

Immediately she turned to face him as she lowered the volume of the TV and frowned. “Oh my god, what happened? Are you okay?”

“Please mom, the last thing I need from you is to freak out, just listen to me for a minute” He cleared his throat and went on. “The thing is that I had been vomiting nonstop for a few days and Roy came to visit, and after we had breakfast and lunch it kept happening, so he took me to the emergency room. The doctor checked me and then they put me an IV to keep me hydrated.”

“But what was it?” His mom was very worried.

“Well, it turns out that I am a female pseudohermaphrodite mom!” He said it in a way as if saying ‘Ta-daa!’

“What?” She was so confused, she didn’t get any of it at all. “What is that? What does that mean?”

“It means all my life I have always been female but with external male body organs, as in I was supposed to be a girl all along.” He could say it more naturally now, it was amazing how time did make it easier to come to terms with things.

“What?” Bonnie couldn’t believe it. "Danny if you are joking, this is not funny." She looked at her son and he was dead serious. He knew had he been joking, he would have a smirk on his face right now, but there was none. 

"I'm really not joking mom. It has been rough to let everything sink in and then come to terms with it but it's okay." Danny said very calm.

Bonnie now fully realized he was not joking. “But--  but-- Why did we never found out about this before? I have taken you to the doctor many, many times since you were a baby! How come we didn’t find out about this before?” She was so confused.

“Because it’s usually diagnosed later in life mom, usually when they become adults.”

“But what is going to happen to you now? You are going to be okay right?” She still couldn't believe it. In a way she couldn't help feeling some sort of guilt for not finding out about this when he was a child. He was her responsibility, how could she have missed this? Her eyes shone bright with tears of uncertainty but you could tell she was trying to remain strong.

“Yes mom, I’m not gonna die. Everything is going to be fine. I’m still me and I'll always will be. The vomiting has stopped." He tried to reassure her. "And it seems I can actually eat food now. I hadn't eaten anything other than crackers for days.” 

She placed a hand to her chest and gave a deep breath “Oh thank God. But for how long are you going to be sick and throwing up? Are these flares?”

Danny let out a fake smile. “No. There is one more thing.” He sighed. “While they were examining me, some hormones were not supposed to be that high, they also took an ultrasound and confirmed I had ovaries… and a uterus… well, actually--” He took a deep breath. “An occupied uterus.”

“Occupied?” She frowned because she didn’t get it, but after a few seconds, her jaw dropped open as she pulled her hand towards it and gasped. “Danny—!” She looked at him in disbelief. “Are you pregnant?!” She screamed leaving her jaw wide open.

Danny looked at her mom, her eyes were so wide of surprise.

He nodded. “Yup and this time is for real, it’s not a joke. It has a heartbeat and everything, and it's due in winter.” He brought a finger to his mouth and bit his nail as he looked at his mom, expectantly.

His mom seemed to have frozen, she still had a puzzled look on her face.

When she reacted, she grabbed him by the shoulders. “Oh My God!!! Danny?!?! You?!?! You are having a baby?!?! Danny—!!” She stared into his green eyes, placed both hands on his cheeks then pulled him into a tight hug. Danny felt so comforted by his mom's touch, but it didn’t last long. 

She broke the hug and immediately asked him, “But what is this going to do to you? There’s a catch isn’t it?” His mom was worried again.

He nodded. “I’m the first case ever reported.” Danny was suddenly very serious now.

His mom gasped and her eyes were filling up with tears even more. Danny could feel her concern.

“The doctor wanted to get me admitted for supervision but I can’t live being studied and proded on like a lab rat, I don’t want that! She said there's a high chance I will miscarry because my body still has some boy hormones and my uterus was atrophied and is very thin. She said it’s a miracle the baby is alive.” As soon as he saw his mom’s tears coming down her face, he felt his own eyes filling up as well. Especially now that he had voiced his biggest fear, the fear of the unknown.   
“I have to go back in a few days to get the MRI and start treatment for that because--” He took a deep breath. “I'm keeping the baby.”

It took a moment for his mom. “Oh Danny!” She hugged him again, tears kept coming down her face. “My baby!” She patted him on the back as she embraced him. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost you! You are my baby!”

Danny was now crying too. He hated seeing his mom cry, and now even more since he was the reason of her tears. “I know mom.” He said hugging her back. “I’m going to be okay, no matter what happens.” He broke the hug to face his mom. “I know it’s dangerous for me to go through this, but I wanna give this baby a chance. Time will tell if I miscarry but if it doesn’t happen, then I’ll just let it be. The doctor says it’s a miracle it’s already gone this far.”

“I can’t believe this. You are actually pregnant.” She broke the hug and looked at him. “It’s gonna be okay, we are all going to be okay.” She reassured him holding his hand, calming him and herself down.

Then it came to her, she had to ask him. “And who's the father?” She was very straightforward.

That still was a touchy subject for Danny, he couldn't help to let out a very sad pout. “I don’t know mom. I’m sorry, I’m such a whore! I’m so sorry.” He covered up his face with both hands as he felt his mom’s arms go around him in an embrace once again.

“It’s okay.” She placed her head to the crook of her neck as she comforted him.

That’s when Danny broke the hug and let everything out. “I had this one time thing with these two guys I didn’t even know and then-- there's--” How could he even say it. "Fuck!" He looked away for a second, wiped his tears and the looked back at his mom. “There's a chance Roy is the father.”

“What?” his mom frowned. “As in Bianca-Roy? Isn’t he like about to get engaged to his boyfriend?”

“I know mom! But I can’t remember how it fucking happened and he doesn’t remember either, we’ve been texting and talking and he hasn’t brought it up so he doesn’t remember anything.”

His mom closed her eyes, realizing how serious the situation had become. “But after that night--?”

“I pretty much ran as soon as I saw him next to me, he didn’t see me leave. And he hasn’t figured it out, I know he would have told me if he remembered, he's like that.”

“You know he has the right to know, right?”

“I made up my mind and I will tell him when I have proof that this baby is his. I can’t tell him now mom, this could possibly destroy his relationship.”

His mom shook her head. “You do realize if he finds out on his own he is going to be very upset. This is the first decision you are making as a parent, are you sure that’s what you want to do?”

He hadn’t thought of it that way. “What do you think I should do mom? Just tell him he slept with me and he cheated on his boyfriend and now I could be pregnant with his baby when he doesn’t even remember anything?”

“That’s what happened Dan. You both need to take responsibility.”

Danny stood up from the couch, turned around and walked away without leaving the living room. “I can’t do that mom. What if this baby isn’t his?” He turned back to face his mom again. “Then he would've worried for nothing, and it would destroy him, his relationship and us. I can’t do that to him. I’ll definitely try to keep him involved in everything related to the baby as much as possible, without him suspecting anything. But that’s it.”

His mom shook her head. “I don’t think it’s the right decision Dan. He finds out he could be the baby daddy and you’re fucked. ” She sighed and afterwards there was a silent pause. “But no matter what, you got me, you got us, and I’m sure the entire family.” She opened her arms towards her son and he went straight back to her embrace.

Without warning she placed a hand under his shirt on his belly.

Ever since he found out, nobody had touched him there so it made him flinch. “Oh my god! Here it is!” She pressed her hand touching the small bulge. “Oh! It’s the baby! Please tell me you have quit smoking weed and drinking.”  


He rolled his eyes. “Of course mom I’m not that terrible you know! I have a conscience too.”  


“Alright. When is your next appointment. I’m coming with you.”  


“In about a week, I’ll let you know.”  


“Did you already have an ultrasound done?”  


“I only had the one on the ER, but the doctor said I needed to get them done every two weeks so next week I might get one.”  


“I want to be there.” She cleared her throat and her excitement worn down a bit. “Or should we get Roy to come with you for that one?”  


Danny had not thought about it. “I don’t know mom, he was with me in the very first ultrasound. Maybe he should come to the one after. I want you to be there with me.” He put his hand on top of the one that was on his belly.  


Danny was so relieved.   


With his mom on the same page as him, he felt he could conquer the world. He just hoped he was making the right decisions, for himself and most importantly for the baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to be up by friday but I had to rewrite it several times. It's very hard to write about a character that you know nothing about. And from what has been seen of Danny's mom in youtube and drag race, she is the most amazing woman! Loving and so true to herself. I really hope in this fic she doesn't come off as out of character.   
> Next chapter will be about Danny making some changes to his life and Roy is coming back for that one too.   
> Hopefully will be up by friday. If it isn't up, then that means I am in 36-hour bus ride moving permanently to another country.   
> Or I could get it up before my move... if I have some time?   
> I'm not sure. Thank you so much for your comments and kudos! They are greatly appreciated!


	6. When the Universe Conspired

In the next few days the most immediate family was informed about Danny’s condition.

They all showed concern at first since he was walking through unknown territory. But Danny took the time to answer all of their questions and doubts at the best of his capabilities. He reassured them this was what he wanted and as always they were nothing but supportive and also excited for the baby. 

Danny made the decision to not do more shows until he had the baby. If he was going to give him or her a chance, then he was going to do it right. His cousin, who was also his manager, also thought that it was in Danny’s best interest to take a break from the spotlight and focus solely on his health.

Danny’s mom was at his house every single day and Danny didn’t mind one bit. 

She cooked his favorite meals for him and helped him out with some of the cleaning around the house. She also tended to him when he got sick, which didn’t happen often anymore but rather every other day. He loved having her with him and she couldn’t help spoiling him.

Once again he had found himself ignoring Roy for the past weeks. The man had texted and called, and Danny never picked up. Not even once. Every single time he called, he just sent back a text saying everything was fine. Danny knew this was not what he  had intended on doing. 

He had to update him on everything. 

Roy had been with him when he found out and most importantly there was a chance he was the baby’s father. He knew Roy was in LA since he heard that from other people. But the thought of talking to him, knowing that he was hiding something so important from Roy, made Danny anxious. He knew deep down he was doing what was best for all of them. 

It was enough, Danny had to talk to him, and he was going do it like he always did.

 

Roy was driving when he got the text.

“Hey! My mom’s here and she made vegan enchiladas. Come for dinner!”

He hadn’t heard anything like it from Danny in weeks, so he replied back saying he would be there. Roy had been very worried for his friend, he knew Danny’s situation was very delicate, and he did feel that for some reason Danny had put up some sort of wall between them again. 

He wondered if he had already told his family. 

Danny was so close to his mom. He thought that if his mom was cooking for him at his place then maybe she was already aware of everything, and as he had expected, she had Danny’s back. He was so happy about that possibility.

He was also curious to know how was he doing with the baby. After knowing Danny for so many years, he knew that either he completely dreaded the idea and terminated the pregnancy or he fell in love with the baby and he decided to keep it. Danny’s feelings were always very intense. 

Something in his mind told him that Danny was keeping the baby.

 

Danny could hear a car entering the driveway, so he stood up and went to greet him. Once Roy was out of the car, he already saw Danny outside standing in the doorway. He seemed content.

“Hey!” Danny said as he hugged Roy. 

He embraced the younger man. “Bitch! It’s good to know you’re still alive!” 

Danny let out a soft laugh and smiled. “Yeah! Sorry! Come in!”

“It smells delicious in here.” Roy said as he enjoyed the smell of home-cooked food.

“My mom is in the kitchen I was just setting up the table." They went to the dining room.

“Alright let me help you, but first let me say hi to your mom.” He walked into the kitchen where she found Bonnie stirring one of the pots. “Hi!”

“Roy!” She dropped everything and went to hug him. 

Danny was standing in the doorway looking at them. His mom had always cherished his friendship with Roy. But the way she was embracing the man was different. Danny could tell she was truly fond of him, now more than ever since there was a chance he was going to be in her life forever. 

Roy broke the hug. “How have you been? You look good!”

“Aww! Thank you! I’m here, same as always!” She went back to stirring the pot. “Making sure this boy eats right.”

“Thank God you are here then!” They laughed.

“Hey, I can hear you!” Danny said leaning in the doorway. 

“This is almost done, I’ll bring it out in a couple of minutes.” Bonnie said cutting up some vegetables for a salad.

“I’m gonna go help Danny with the table.”

They left the kitchen to the dining room. They set up the table pretty quickly and then sat down afterwards.

“Danny how have you been? You look better.” 

“Yeah! I can actually eat now. It turns out all the vomiting was a really bad case of hyperemesis, I think that’s what’s called. I went back to see the doctor the next day after we went to the ER. She hooked me to an IV again for a couple of hours because I was still dehydrated. Then we talked for like an hour and she told me I could eat some things like crackers and iced tea, so I was good.”

“Oh that sounds great! You looked really bad back then, I’m so happy to see you are doing well.”

Danny then started scratching the back of his head. “Yeah! About that, I wanted to thank you, because if it hadn’t been for you, I don’t think I would have ever gone to the doctor.” Danny let out a nervous smile.

“No problem! That’s why we are here for. I’m so relieved to see you doing better, because that day, I don’t think I’ll ever forget it either.”

“Yeah, It was crazy. I found out I have the insides of a woman and a baby on the way. You don’t hear that every day.” Danny laughed.

Roy frowned a little. “I take it you already told your mom?”

“Yeah I told her last week. I think she took it well, we told my family the next day and it was alright.” Danny cleared his throat. “I’m keeping the baby so…” He looked at Roy trying to figure out his reaction.

“Oh! Wow!” Roy widened his eyes and smiled. “That’s— that’s exciting! I can congratulate you on the baby now!” Roy’s smile widened and went to hug Danny.

Danny received the hug. “Yup! It’s just going to be the two of us.” He didn't know why he said that. Was it out of protectiveness towards the baby? For some reason now it felt wrong to have said that, considering Roy was there. He just said it out of nervousness.

“I am sure if anyone can do that it’s you. You will be fine! And I’ll always be around if you need me.”

“Thanks! At first I was an emotional wreck, I swear, you saw how I was. I just wanted to disappear. But then when I went to the doctor again and we talked, and I got to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. It just… I don’t know. I’d never felt so much-- when I heard it that time. Like, it changed me. I couldn’t terminate after that.” Danny shook his head.

“You sound like a parent already I’m so proud of you.”

“Yeah, but the doctor told me there is still a high chance I’ll miscarry.” Danny’s smiled turned into a half smile. “I’m taking estrogens and also testosterone suppressors so I can try to lower the odds of miscarrying but still, he says until I reach week 25 or 26, when the baby can have a better chance of making it outside of me, that I should take it one day at a time.” Danny spoke about it calmly and confidently. 

“That sounds a bit scary.” Roy said concerned. 

“It is! But I try not to think about it, because can you imagine? God!” He shook his head. “I’m just focusing on giving it a chance.” Danny scratched his neck, once again trying to not make a big deal out of what he was saying.

“I’m very proud of you, that’s so like you. You know if you need me, I’ll be around.”

“Sure! I’ll call you in the middle of your show somewhere around the world!” Danny laughed loudly.

“Well, actually I will be around, as in here in LA.” 

Danny frowned. “What?” 

“Yeah, well… I was offered a residency here for about four months until the end of the year. I’m moving to LA.”

Danny’s jaw dropped to the floor. He could not believe what he was hearing. “What? No way! Are you serious? That’s awesome! Congratulations!” Danny went to hug him and then went to the kitchen to share the news with his mom. “Mom! Roy is moving to LA!” 

Danny found her mom, sitting on the kitchen table scrolling down her phone. He  then looked around and saw the kitchen was off and the food was already served in plates. Everything had been ready all along. She was just making some time so they could talk alone.

Danny figured out what she had been up to and raised an eyebrow towards her.

She quickly realized she had been found out, his son knew her extremely well. She put her phone away and stood up. “Food’s ready! What was that?”

Danny just smiled shaking his head. “Mom! Roy is moving to LA. Can you believe that?”

“Really?!” Her jaw dropped to the floor and then smirked. “Isn’t that amazing Danny? We are going to have him around for when the baby comes.”

Danny widened his eyes and mouth at his mom but then quickly narrowed them, pressing his lips giving his mom a ‘Shush I’m gonna kill you’ look. 

“Congratulations are in order for you as well Bonnie!” he approached her and hugged her. 

“Oh thank you! It definitely caught us by surprise but… it’s so exciting to go through this new adventure with him.” 

Roy helped her bring out bowls and plates with food and they shared a good time talking through dinner. Roy talked about his shows, his new experiences abroad, his plans in LA among other things. Once they were done, Roy volunteered to wash the dishes and Danny helped him dry them while Bonnie sat on the kitchen table looking at her phone. 

“So when are you moving here? Do you have a date picked out?”

“No, not really.” Roy looked up still trying to think of good date right there. “I was thinking maybe in about a month or so. Maybe sooner if I find somewhere to live before that.”

“Through what area of LA are you looking?”

“I was hoping Hollywood but, the rent so expensive, I’d need to sell a kidney. And for only a four-month stay, I’m not convinced.”

All of a sudden it occurred to Danny. A saying came to his mind: 'Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen'. He couldn't believe it. Now he had the solution to one of his current problems and it was perfect.

“What about here?” Danny widened his eyes in an excited and mischievous manner. Bonnie, who had been looking through her phone but was attentively listening to their conversation, looked at them. 

Roy did not quite get it. “What do you mean?”

“You can stay here! In my place!” His smile was so wide. “Look! I’ve talked to my mom and we’ve decided that maybe for the time being it’s better if I move back to her place. You know so that I’m not alone through this and also so she can help me out after the baby arrives. She wants to make sure I don’t fuck it up.” Danny sounded so excited. “I have already paid for the entire year of rent of this place, so you can stay here!” 

Roy and Bonnie were both in disbelief but for different reasons. 

It was actually a very good idea, Roy thought. While Bonnie on her side, was happy that her son was making the effort, on his own way, to keep at least one of the possible fathers of her grandchild around.

“Are you sure?” Roy thought it was too good to be true. “Maybe you should think about it overnight and…”

But he was interrupted by Danny. “I’ve already made up my mind! I was thinking about renting it but I don’t want to rent it to just anybody, but now you are here! I know it’s not that close to the city but it’s not that far either. Sammy and Dede will have plenty of space to play. And we’ll be neighbors!!” That’s what Danny was most excited about, to have him close by, just in case.

“You know, you are the only person to ever get excited about having me as your neighbor!” He laughed and then looked at Bonnie who was nodding and smiling from ear to ear. 

"This place needs a deep cleaning session though, Danny. We should just keep the windows open from today if you are going to be staying here Roy." She laughed.

Roy looked at Danny and then at his mom and nodded. “I— I guess I don't have to keep looking anymore!” He smiled.

“Yay! So it’s settled!” Danny was so excited.

“But let me pay you the full rent for the time I’m gonna stay.” Roy knew with a baby on the way, there were many expenses ahead of Danny. 

“We’ll talk about that later.” Danny didn’t even think about that aspect, he was willing to let him stay there for free but he knew Roy pretty well and he might change his mind if he didn’t let him pay for rent. 

Once Roy finished washing the dishes he dried his hands with paper towel and turned around, leaning backwards on the kitchen counter facing the fridge. He saw many colorful magnets, and one of them was holding a strip of ultrasound pictures. 

“Oh my God is that the baby?” He said walking towards the fridge.

“Yeah.” Danny said as he curiously tried to see Roy's reaction.

“Oh my God look at the baby! His little arms and look that’s the backbone, right? It has grown so much since the first ultrasound!” Roy couldn't help feeling excited for his best friend's baby. He really loved Danny, and now that he was having a kid of his own, he loved that child to death already. 

It was moving for Bonnie to watch Roy admire the pictures with such awe.

“Yeah” Danny crossed his arms. “I think the doctor said he was measuring about 4 inches. So he’s this big.” He showed him the approximate size with his index finger and his thumb.

“He? Is it gonna be a boy?” Roy said excited.

“No, we still don’t know, the doctor tried to look for the sex but the little fishy was closing his legs so we couldn’t see anything!” Danny smiled.

“4 inches already? But you are not even showing!” Roy exclaimed looking at Danny’s midsection.

“Hmm…” Danny pulled up the oversized shirt he was wearing, revealing a small bump. He looked down and rubbed it softly. “I’m around 16 weeks along, it’s barely there.”

Roy gasped. "Look at you! What do you mean it’s barely there? It’s right there!” He pointed at his lower abdomen. Roy could see a small curvature going right from below Danny's chest towards his pubic area. 

“I told him the same thing but the idiot says it’s just food!” His mom laughed.

Roy looked back at Danny annoyed and rolled his eyes. “Really bitch? Food?” 

Everyone laughed.

“But I mean…” Danny laughed harder placing his hand on the lower part of his belly. “It feels hard! And it doesn’t move or anything so it just feels like I’m bloated with a food baby at this point!!” He said in his defense.

Roy laughed and rolled his eyes at him again. “Oh God!” He said facepalming himself.

It was nice for Danny to have a some type of normalcy once again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly it's good for everyone to have some type of normalcy again, even us. It's been a roller coaster of emotions for Danny so he deserves a break. We all hope it lasts long right? I'm really excited to edit the next few chapters. There's more Danny-Roy interaction to come and more fluffy situations as well.  
> On my side, I still haven't moved yet and it's making me so anxious. Doing paperwork to move from one country to another is such a hassle. And packing... I hate packing. It's the worst thing in the world. I can't imagine how the queens manage with all the traveling they do and all the stuff they have to carry around.   
> They are awesome <3


	7. Insecurities

Time seemed to flew by. 

Danny was already 19 weeks into the pregnancy. Everything was going well and he had finally began to show in a way that he accepted that his belly was something more than a food baby. 

It had been a couple of days since he moved back in with his mom. Roy had made him wait for him so that he could help out moving some of his things back to his mom’s house. 

Danny was at the airport, inside his car waiting for Roy. 

Roy was finally moving to LA and Danny had volunteered to pick him up. Roy had insisted he could ask somebody else to do it since he didn’t want to bother Danny, but the younger man insisted he really wanted to do it, so he accepted.  Roy got out of the airport with four large pieces of luggage piled in a cart, both of his dogs inside their own individual carriers and a backpack. He immediately spotted Danny’s car and Danny inside waving at him, so he headed in his direction. 

Danny got out of the car to greet him. He was wearing black leggings with boots and a somewhat loosesleeveless green shirt with a yellow scarf. Now you could definitely see a bump in his mid section very slightly pulling his shirt outwards.

“Hey!” Roy smiled and hugged him.

Danny reciprocated the hug. “Girl! Come on! Let’s put your bags in the car quickly because I think I've been here too long.”  He said as he let out a soft laugh.

Roy laughed as he carried one of his pieces of luggage and put it in the trunk. When he went to get the next one, he saw Danny greeting Sammy and Dede through their carriers. Danny loved them so much and they loved him too. He grabbed the carriers one at a time and placed them in the back seat of the car, securing them properly. 

Once the dogs were secured in the back seat, he wanted to help Roy put his luggage in the trunk and tried to pick up one of them unsuccessfully. “Why the fuck is this so heavy? What are you bringing?” He said as he was barely able to lift a huge piece of luggage a few inches from the ground.

“Hey! No- no- no- no- I got them.” Roy said as he quickly went to grab the luggage from Danny.

“Man! I feel like every day I’m becoming more and more useless.” Danny laughed as he followed Roy.

“Don’t say that! You are growing a baby, that’s very far from useless.” Roy replied, closing the trunk and extending his palm to Danny. “I can drive.” He said.

“No it’s okay! I got it.” Danny replied. 

They both got in the car and put their seatbelts on and Roy could not help to stare at Danny’s belly. The seatbelt around Danny clearly marked the contour of his belly through his shirt. “Awww, look at you! Now you are really showing!” He extended his hand and briefly placed it on Danny’s belly, it felt tense but soft at the same time.

“I know! It’s crazy! It was as if one day it just popped and it was not just a food baby anymore.” Danny said as he drove out of the pick up area and out of the airport.

“Did you find out the sex yet?”

“Yes and no.”

This caught Roy by surprise. “What’s that supposed to mean? What is it?” Roy laughed confused. 

“We went with my mom to the ultrasound a few days ago and the doctor said that she found out the sex of the baby. I freaked out! I was not ready! But my mom kept insisting and I didn’t want to know! So she said he could write it down in a piece of paper and put it in an envelope.” 

“Ahh! That’s so exciting!!” Roy exclaimed. “Who has the envelope?” 

“I have it, it’s actually there.” He said as he pointed a finger at the dashboard. “Inside there, below the dashboard.” 

Roy’s jaw dropped. “No way! It’s here?” Roy quickly opened it up, and pulled out an envelope that was right above everything inside. “Is it this one?” Roy said excited.

“Yeah! No! But please don’t open it!” Danny screamed at him smiling.

“I won’t open it! But I'm so excited! The sex is written right here!” Roy couldn’t contain his excitement as he held the envelope with both hands. 

“I know! It’s exciting, but I’m not ready! That’s why I want you to keep it. I can’t have it around me! It’s so tempting to look! But I don’t want to!” 

Roy didn’t know if he had heard right. “Wait, so you want _me_ to keep it?” He frowned a little.

“Yeah. Please, just hold on to it until I’m ready to find out.” 

“Sure! Can I see what it is? Once I’m by myself?” Roy grinned and raised his eyebrows a couple of times.

“No. Alright, give it back.” Danny extended his hand towards him.

“Okay, okay, okay I won’t look! I promise!” Roy said immediately, pressing the envelope towards his chest and then putting it inside his backpack.

“Okay… it’s just that having it with me, I’m so curious and it makes me wanna know now! But I don’t know…" Danny sighed and shook his head. "At the same time, finding out what it is, is gonna make it more real for me.”

Roy knew Danny extremely well and he could sense insecurity in his voice. Something was bothering Danny. 

“It doesn’t feel real for you?”

“It’s not that.” He shook his head and placed both hands on the wheel. “I know the baby’s here, with me.” He touched his belly for a second and then got his hand back on the wheel. “The thing is that a part of me loves this baby to death and-" 

Roy could feel this was a touchy subject for Danny, he saw him pressing his fingers on the wheel moving them nervously as he drove. 

"Like- I’m looking forward to growing old with him or her with all my being. I love him so much already. But the other part, which I think is kind of smaller, doesn’t want to get too attached in case something bad happens... you know?” Danny smile faded slightly. "I’m far too attached now. If he or she was gone— I… —” Danny took a deep breath. “I don’t think I would ever, ever have any other children again, or even look at a baby the same.”

Roy nodded, he understood him. Danny was like that, he loved madly and deeply. He would do everything to protect what he loved the most. _Absolutely everything._  That’s why in the past, when these type of situations arose, insome way or another he always put up a barrier so he didn’t get hurt. Roy could see this was Danny's way of protecting himself from the pain of a possible miscarriage would bring. 

“But you have been doing wonderful! It’s only a matter of a few weeks until you reach week 25 right?” 

Danny nodded. “Almost a month and a half.” He tried to sound optimistic.

“Well it’s not that long... But you know what? Don’t think about that, and cherish today! We might be in a car accident in the next few seconds and that’s it. We died.” Roy said raising his shoulders. “Worrying doesn’t accomplish things, you know.”

Danny blinked and let out a soft laugh. “Yeah, I should think more like that.” Danny smiled. “My mom wants to do a gender reveal party.” He said rolling his eyes.

Roy widened his eyes and nodded. “That’s actually a great idea.”

Danny looked at him and frowned a little. "You think so?"

"I think finding out the sex will be good for you. It will bring you closer to your child. And no matter what happens that’s a good thing, because right now he or she is right here with us, and that’s reason enough to celebrate.”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to impose on this child his or her biological sex. You know my views on gender.”

“You will not be imposing anything on him or her! This is just how we will call the baby until he reaches the age when he or she decides whatever he or she wants to be. I hate this him or her thing!” Roy screamed. “That’s why we need to find out just so we know what to call it! Or are we going to be calling it 'it'— yeah an ‘it’ for the next few months?”

“No! That sounds horrible, so heartless.” Danny frowned a little and pouted. "You know what? Fine, I’ll tell my mom we can do one—” Then Danny’s eyes widened with excitement as he came up with an idea. “Oh! You know what? We could do one when I reach week 25!

Roy nodded approvingly. “Yeah! It could be a gender or sex reveal party slash celebration for reaching his or her first milestone.” Roy shook his head. “God! I hate this him or her thing.”

"I'd like that." Danny nodded, looking very contented with the idea.  “Meanwhile just hold on to the envelope! I’ll ask for it back later.”

Roy really appreciated that Danny trusted him with this type of secret. They had got so close over the years. 

“So how many weeks are you now? 19?”

“Yeah!”

“Is it moving yet?”

Danny placed a hand to the top of his belly. “No, I don’t feel it moving at all. The doctor said it might take a few more weeks till I start to feel it moving. Right now I feel so big already, I don’t think I’ve ever been this fat before. I wish it moved already because I only feel myself getting bigger and that’s not cool. I want to feel it!”

“You do know it’s going to get a lot bigger right?” Roy smiled.

“Yeah but once it starts moving I think it will be a lot more fun!” Danny said excited.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

First they decided to go to Bonnie’s house since she had made dinner for them. Afterwards they would go to to Danny’s house to drop Roy off, they would pick up Danny’s stuff the day after.

Bonnie, Roy and Danny were having dinner and talking about random stuff. Danny was holding one of his tacos, bringing it to his mouth when he felt something odd in his midsection. At first he thought it was just his body digesting the food, but it kept going. His face turned into a confused expression trying to figure out exactly what it was that he was feeling. He placed the taco back on his plate, frowned and grabbed his belly with both hands looking down.

This action did not go unnoticed by Roy and Bonnie, who had been avidly eating but now they slowed down as they paid attention to Danny. 

“Danny?” His mom looked at him, but Danny didn’t answer back and his frown deepened.

“Are you okay?” Roy got worried.

Danny shook his head. “I don’t know.” He looked at them.

Roy and Bonnie froze. They looked at each other sharing a look of concern. 

Meanwhile, Danny kept his hands on the sides of his belly, the feeling had stopped when he placed his hands on it. But then it was a matter of seconds when he felt like bubbles popping inside him on his side, and not only that, but he felt them pressing slightly towards one of his hands. 

“Oh my God!” Danny gasped, eyes wide looking at both Roy and his mom.

Time seemed to have stopped for Roy and Bonnie, they were looking at him ready for anything he was going to say.

Danny’s expression then softened and let out a smile. “It’s moving! The baby is moving!” He laughed.

“Oh my God!” Both people exclaimed together as they placed a hand on their chests and sat all the way back in their seats sharing a look of relief. 

“Bitch! You can’t do that to us!” Roy exclaimed laughing . 

“Mom come here! Feel it!” Danny said motioning her to come closer.

Bonnie stood up and bent over Danny. She placed a hand on the spot Danny had told her and felt her littlest grandchild movements. 

“Oh my goodness! He's kicking!” She then looked at Roy. “Come feel it Roy!”

Roy didn’t think it twice, he went and squatted next to Danny who guided his hand to a particular spot on his belly. It was very light, but Roy did feel the tapping towards his hand. “I feel it! It’s moving!” He almost screamed. 

Danny looked excited but at the same time he had a look of complete peace of mind. He looked whole. “Oh God! I can't believe it! I’m having a baby!” He whispered.

Both Bonnie and Roy looked at each other and laughed. 

“Newsflash!” His mom joked.

“You know what?” Danny said as he placed his hand on the spot his baby was the most active. “I think it’s going to be a girl.”

“What makes you say that?” Roy asked him, still waiting to feel a bit more of the baby’s movements that had already stopped.

“I don’t know, I just have this feeling.” He then looked at his mom. “Even if it’s a boy, I think he’s going to be just like me.” He sounded completely convinced. 

“If he’s just like you— You’re in trouble.” his mom added.

Danny looked down at his belly. “Are you a girl? You are, aren’t you?” Danny said tenderly pressing circles to it. Roy still had his hand pressed against a side of Danny’s belly. They waited for a few seconds, and the baby started kicking again, making Danny laugh out loud. “See? I told you! She’s gonna be a baby girl, just like me!”

They kept going at each other in such a familiar way, Bonnie was just so happy to see them interact like that. So far things were going alright in Danny’s life. 

She just prayed that whenever the time came to tell Roy the truth, it would go smoothly. 

She liked Roy, she always did. And right now, she really wished he was the father of the baby. If Roy was the other parent, she could see a happier future for her grandchild. Danny and him had always got along so well, he was very loving and responsible, he would make such an amazing dad. She knew that Danny was capable of raising this child on his own, but she wanted better for him. Deep down, she worried for her son. She would have loved for him to have someone to share this experience with and also for her grandchild to have a good relationship with the other dad as well. The only way she knew that would happen, was if Roy was the other father. The possibility of Danny and Roy raising a child together, she liked that.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The following day Danny along with his cousin went to now Roy’s house to pick up some of Danny’s stuff.

“I imagined your house would be messier.” Roy teased him.

“It was messy! But my mom was with me the last days I was here so she cleaned pretty much all of it.” He said with a mischievous smile.

“Alright, what do you want to take with you?” 

“Hmm, I don’t know…” Danny looked around. “I want to take everything… This place is so me!”

“Dude hurry up I gotta get some stuff for my ma.” His cousin told him.

“Okay, okay.” He placed his hand on his chin and started pointing towards stuff. “Bring my guitars! That bag I already packed with all my coats, this other one too, this night stand and that’s it.”

“Alright, just wait for me in the car, I’ll bring it all out.” His cousin said.

“I’ll help you!” Danny said trying to pull one of the bags. 

“No!” Roy and Danny's cousin said.

“Dude, if you want to help out just bring your little shit.” His cousin insisted.

“Okay but for the record, I was just trying to be helpful!” Danny raised his shoulders. 

As Roy and Danny’s cousin were bringing out his stuff, Danny opened his drawers one by one to see if there were things he wanted to take with him. In one drawer, there were many random objects like lighters, papers and other stuff he didn't know why he even had. He was moving things around further in the drawer, when his hand felt a bag filled with something he was very familiar with. It was a translucent bag filled with weed. He placed it on top of the drawers and put his hand inside again. He knew there was other stuff in there as well. He pulled out another bag filled with syringes and a small translucent bag containing white powder. 

He sighed as he placed the last bag next to his weed. 

He had never used the syringes on his own body, but he had been with people that did. He remembered just staring at them while they did their thing, trying to get him to do it. He went as far as to smoking crack a few times and sniffing heroin also a couple of times, just to try them. The effects they caused on him were way too much for him to handle so he didn’t try them again. They wanted him to try them through his veins but by no means would he have something injected in his body, that’s where he drew the line and he refused to do it. 

What he completely regretted, was that he had done these things during the time he didn't know that he was pregnant. 

For about the first two months into the pregnancy, he had been smoking weed, tobacco, drinking alcohol every other day and he had tried inhaled drugs.  It all stopped when he started throwing up every day, it had been a very rough time for him and he was definitely not proud of it. 

He let out a sigh slowly shaking his head and placed a hand on his belly slowly rubbing circles on it.  He had asked his doctor about the effects of alcohol in babies since he had been drinking for the first few months. She talked to him about the issue and Danny felt so guilty. 

He grabbed the bag of heroin, looked at it for a while and realized he didn't know the harm that drug could do to a baby. He put it down and quickly grabbed his phone, looked it up on google and tapped on the first youtube video in the results. 

He was completely shocked to see that the title of the video was ‘Born Addicted.’ Never would he have imagined that such a thing was possible.  Once the video started playing on the screen he gasped and was horrified when he saw a newborn’s feet shaking uncontrollably due to heroin withdrawal. 

When Roy and Danny’s cousin went upstairs to get more stuff, they saw him dead serious staring at his phone biting his nails. His cousin was in a hurry so he went straight to get something else to bring to in the car and finish faster.

"What are you watching?” Roy asked as he got closer to see the phone’s screen. He got there just to see the end of the video, showing the baby’s feet shaking once again. It was very sad to watch. 

“Fuck!” He ignored Roy's presence as he put his phone away in his pocket. He then turned towards the drawer and grabbed the bag of powder. Roy followed him and saw him empty all of its contents on the toilet. Since he had held the bag from a certain height, some of the powder spread through the air making both of them cough. 

When Roy immediately perceived what that smell was, he grabbed Danny by the arm and pulled him away from the bathroom into the hallway so he didn’t inhale the substance.

Danny was very upset. “Fuck! I can’t even throw it away right.” He said in between coughs. 

Roy was coughing as well. “Is that crack?”

“Yes, and heroin.” Danny said completely pissed.

Roy could tell that the powder was crack but he had not expected that Danny had gone as far as to have done heroin.

“I’m the worst and now she’s gonna be born sick! Fuck!!” Danny was so mad.

“Did you do heroin?” Roy had to ask.

Danny shook his head. “Girl, I swear I only tried it two times and that was it. I just inhaled it, I didn’t get it injected.”

“If it was only twice then maybe it’s not that bad. Have you told this to the doctor?”

“No, I completely forgot.”

“You can ask her next appointment. Maybe it’s not that bad.” Roy placed a hand on Danny’s back. 

Danny rolled his eyes. “I’m already a shitty parent and she’s not even here yet.” His hand went through his face frustrated. 

“Don’t say that. Look, maybe you didn’t do it right at first, but now you're different. You are changing for her. That’s what's important now.”

Danny sighed and shook his head. “I just hope she doesn’t get hurt from everything I did.” 

“We all hope for a healthy baby but even if she isn’t, we’ll all love her the same! Look how you came out! We love you the same.” Roy tried to get a smile out of Danny, which he succeeded on, but it quickly faded. “She will be strong like her mama! C’mon! I’m gonna open the windows, let’s finish taking out your crap!”

Danny looked sad and disappointed.

He stared at the other man opening the windows. Roy was always so kind and good to him. He always knew what to say and how to say it. When he was with him, Danny felt truly safe. 

Danny couldn't help thinking Roy would make a great dad. He wondered if it was a bad thing for him to wish for Roy to be his child's parent. He didn’t want to inflict that responsibility on him from an act he didn’t even remember. How could he?

And the worst part was that had no choice, only time would tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so terribly sorry for the almost two-week delay, this chapter is slightly longer to make up for it. My international move is finally over, you have no idea how happy that makes me!  
> This chapter got me sweating man...  
> For some reason I have rewritten this chapter so many times. Every time I finished reading an edited version, it just didn't seem right. Even now, I like it but I'm not 100% satisfied with it like I am with the other chapters. I'm not sure what it is. Maybe the stress from the move got to me? I have no idea.  
> You can expect two chapters a week like before from now on, so if I stick to that, next chapter should be up thursday or friday.  
> I hope you enjoy it and thank you for your comments! I love replying to them all! ^^


	8. Different Types of Visions

“Mom I said I’ll be careful.” Danny was sitting on the table with his mom.

“There was a time you came home bleeding from one of the shows!”

“That’s because I threw myself on to the public and I fell on the fucking floor! Nobody grabbed me!” He laughed remembering how hilarious it was.

“What if you forget you are pregnant? And throw yourself-” Bonnie was interrupted by Danny.

“How can I forget I’m pregnant mom? She moves and kicks all the time! Besides it’s time to introduce her to the stage life and and all the excitement!” Danny gave a sip to his can of soda, it was the next best thing, second to wine.

“I don’t know Danny, I’m totally against this but it’s up to you.”

Danny’s phone vibrated on the table and saw the incoming message that popped on the screen. 

“Roy is here.” Danny took his time standing up while Bonnie was already up and close to the door.

“See? A potato is faster than you! Is that how you are going to move on stage?”

“What? Mom that doesn’t even make sense. Potatoes don’t move!”

She grabbed the door’s handle and turned around to face Danny. “Exactly!” 

Danny started laughing.

She opened the door. “Hi Roy, come on in.”

Since Roy had moved to LA, he would visit Danny's house often. Danny would call him to come over for dinner or maybe just to hang out in his house or watch a movie. Sometimes even Danny's brothers were there. Roy felt he was getting closer to Danny in a more familiar way, and Danny and his family as well enjoyed his company.

“Hi Bonnie! I brought dessert.” He handed her a small cake and a pint of ice cream.

“Yes!!! Cake and ice cream!!!” Danny screamed and raised both arms excited.

“That’s not for you!” Roy said widening his eyes while giving him an inquisitive look.

“What? Why??” Danny questioned. 

“Last time I came over you had two pints of ice cream all by yourself!” He stared at Danny’s hand that was trying to grab another can of soda. “Is that soda you are drinking?”

“No, this is my mom’s.” He said pushing away the can a little instead of grabbing it, which had been his original intention.

“He's lying!!” His mom yelled at him as she went to the kitchen. “That’s the second one he is having today!”

Roy gasped, narrowed his eyes and shook his head looking at him. “Girl! That much sugar can't be good for the baby. The poor kid is gonna turn out like you!” Roy tried to scold him in his own particular way.

Danny let out a smile. “That'd be awesome!" 

"Don't pee against the wind stupid! One of you is more than enough!" His mom said rolling her eyes, making her way to the kitchen.

Roy started laughing as he reached towards Danny's can of soda and grabbed it from him.  “Nope, that’s enough! Drink water.” Roy went to the kitchen and brought him back a tall glass of water, followed by Bonnie who brought out a veggie tray, and put it on the table. “This is what you are eating from now on.”

He loved veggies, but he really craved sugar. Danny let out a deep sigh and began eating his veggies. 

Roy grabbed a piece of celery. “Danny I forgot to mention, your name is on the poster for the charity gig for HIV awareness.” He said as he was giving a bite to his piece of celery.

“Yeah! I’m performing.” He said smiling as he chewed on a baby carrot.

Roy almost choked on his food. “What?! You’re performing?!” Roywidened his eyes at him in surprise at first but then frowned.

“Yeah! It’s a gig for charity and I strongly support anything related to finding a cure for HIV so I’m definitely going.” Danny said proudly.

Roy looked at Danny’s mom as hoping she would say something.

Bonnie put her hands in the air. “Don’t look at me! I’ve been trying to warn him all week about everything that could happen there and he’s still going.” 

Roy sighed, looked at Danny straight in the eyes and took a big breath. “Okay, girl! Listen! First of all, that’s not the place to be for a pregnant lady! You know the kids go crazy about you, you shake their hands from the stage and bang! You are in the ground! Second, you know how crazy it gets backstage, people are smoking and the changing rooms smell like weed and other things! There is nothing we can do about that! Third and most importantly, there is the issue of the baby. Do your fans know you are pregnant? I don’t think so! If they find out Danny, you are going viral! Your privacy is already compromised with your current fanbase, it will only get worse if you go public with this! Do the other queens know you are pregnant? I don’t think so either! And lastly, you are the clumsiest person ever on stage. I know for a fact, something will happen. Do I need to say more?” 

Roy stared at Danny, who had tried to interrupt him several times throughout his speech. But the one speaking was not Roy, it was Bianca del Rio trying to change Danny’s mind, so hell yeah she was a hard bitch to interrupt.

“Okay, now you will listen to me!” Danny raised his voice looking at Roy first and then his mom.He cleared his throat and went on. “HIV awareness is a very very important cause for me. I want to perform because I know this is what I want to teach my child. She needs to stand up for what she believes in and help out. That’s the right thing to do! I know there is alcohol and sometimes drugs smuggled backstage, but I will just perform and leave, that’s it! I won’t even get ready there, I’ll get ready here, I’ll go, I’ll sing and I’ll get back home! That’s it! Thirdly, I have absolutely no intention of making my pregnancy public! I’ll just say I have health issues and that’s it! Same to the other queens, fight me!”

“But Danny…” Roy interrupted him.

“Look, I feel her inside moving, and kicking and it makes me so happy! I want to feel her jumping up and down inside of me while I’m doing the thing I love the most, which is performing. I really want to have this memory. You do realize I still haven’t reached the 25th week right?!”

There was uncomfortable silence after Danny said that. It was true. Until he reached week 25, which was in about three weeks, if anything were to happen, the chances of the baby making it outside the womb were scarce. 

“I want to feel her with me when I sing on that stage supporting a good cause! That’s what I want to do! That's what I'm gonna do!”

Roy and Bonnie had nothing to say against that. They both knew how much performing meant to Danny, and doing it in his condition, that would be even more special. 

“We just want you to be safe Danny, if anything was to happen…” His mom said but Danny interrupted her.

“I swear I will take the necessary precautions so nothing happens, I’ve already set the conditions if they want me to perform there. It's gonna be fine!”

The three of them sitting around the table exchanged looks among each other. Roy then looked at the ceiling, sighed and looked back at Danny. “I’ll go with you. I’ll perform in this gig with you.”

Danny’s jaw dropped open. “Really?!?! But you are not on the line-up!”

“Bitch, they will make a spot for me.” Roy shook his head and looked at Bonnie. “This girl is the reason why I’ve been getting more white hairs lately!” He screamed as he pointed at Danny.

Danny laughed even harder. “Girl that’s you, you and only you!”

They ate and watched Bohemian Rhapsody together, it was late at night so Bonnie fell asleep during the movie. Danny and Roy still got to watch it and sang until the very end.

“Oh I love Freddie! He was so amazing! He’s my hero.” Danny giving a sip to his water.

“Yeah… it sucks he left so early. Such a loss for humanity.” Roy was standing up to leave. 

“Oh! Girl! I almost forgot to ask you!!! Can you make me a dress? I was looking through my closet and nothing fits anymore.” He said as he pouted. “Everything is too tight or way too slutty for a pregnant lady. Not like I don’t look ravishing hot in them but that’s not what I need right now.” He laughed.

“Sure! What kind of dress are you thinking about?” 

“I was thinking like the black one you made me for All Stars. I tried that one on but I would like it to be looser.” 

“Yeah sure, I can get it done by saturday.”

“Yay! I love custom made dresses! You have to measure me right?” Danny took his shirt off excited. When Roy saw Danny he was very surprised. “Wow! Honestly If I hadn’t been in the first ultrasound I wouldn’t believe you are pregnant and would have told you to quit drinking. Look at you! You are so big!” He laughed.

Danny was holding the lower part of his belly with both hands as if cradling it. “I know right? Can’t wait till I reach week 25 I’m so excited! Even now the doctor said she has a chance of making it outside the womb! So if she goes crazy and decides to come out like right now, she would have a chance of making it! Isn’t that crazy? I’ve seen videos of babies her age out of the womb, they are so itty bitty tiny, you can put a ring through their little arms. It’s so cool to think she can do well outside, but at the same time so scary because they are so weak, their lungs are not ready yet and they can get pneumonia.”

“Geez! Someone has been doing his homework!” Roy was impressed. “Can I touch it?”

“Yeah! Go ahead! Look she’s moving around here.” Danny grabbed Roy’s hand and placed it to the side of his belly. 

“It feels so weird!” Roy didn’t get the chance to touch a pregnant belly that often. To think that he was feeling his best friend’s baby, it was very exciting. “Alright, let's measure you. Let me just go get a measuring tape.” He was a seamstress, he knew somewhere among his stuff there was a measuring tape. He went to his car to get it, once back he saw Danny leaning over the couch wiping it with a cloth. Danny didn't hear him coming back into the house.

As Roy walked into the living room, he saw his bare back, his tattoos and soft brown hair covering the back of Danny’s neck. Roy just stood there and had a very weird feeling.  Out of nowhere, inside his head, he could clearly see the image of Danny below him in the dark. The younger man was holding on to the bedsheets for dear life, as he moaned and told him to thrust deeper. 

Roy tried to shake his head to get the image out of his mind but the more he stared at Danny’s back, the clearer he saw it. He could see himself on a bed with Danny. He was grabbing his hips, leaning on to him and thrusting into him. He knew it was Danny because of his tattoos. Roy was shocked and confused, right there in the living room every second felt like an eternity as he got closer to Danny who was still cleaning the couch with one hand and grabbing a glass with the other. Roy didn’t know what got over him, he went and grabbed one of his shoulders from behind.

“Damn! I forgot I put that glass on the couch, when I stood up it spilled all over. My mom is gonna kill me.” Danny then faced Roy, the older man looked as if something terrible had just happened to him. 

“Girl? Are you okay?” Danny waved a hand in front of his face. “Are you here?”

Roy frowned. “Yeah,” He winked several times and shook his head. “I had the worst, I don’t know what to call it, vision?” 

“Cool! What was it?” Danny smiled as he asked him curiously.

_ “I saw us having sex.” _

The next thing that was heard was glass breaking on the floor. Danny had accidentally dropped the glass from the impression. 

Roy had remembered something. 

Bonnie abruptly woke up startled and looked everywhere to see what had been that loud noise. “God! What was that? It scared me.”

Danny immediately changed the subject. “It’s all good mom, sorry, I broke a glass.” He said looking around the floor trying to find a spot where to step on since he was barefoot and he wanted to clean up the mess he had made.

“Don’t move Danny. I’ll go get a broom.” Roy went to the kitchen and brought a broom and paper so he could pick the little pieces of glass without getting hurt.

“I’m so sleepy.” Bonnie said as she stood up. 

“Why don’t you go upstairs and rest? I’ll clean this up, it’s ok.” 

“Are you sure? Let me help you with that.” She extended her hand towards the broom.

“Nope! It’s okay! I got it.” Roy would not give it to her.

Bonnie was very tired, so she just let him. “Alright then, Good night boys!” She went upstairs yawning.

Once she was out of the room, Dany tried to think of what to say now. How much did Roy remember? Was it just like a fantasy he had or did he process it as a memory?

“I’m sorry, I was not expecting you to say something so weird like that.” Danny smiled awkwardly to him.

“No, I’m sorry too, I shouldn’t have said that. It’s just that for a second… I don’t know, maybe I’m sex deprived.” He said as he shook his head pressing a slice of bread to the floor to get a the little bits of glass out of the way.

Inside Danny there was this voice telling him ‘Tell him now! It’s your chance! Tell him what happened! Tell him you had sex with him!’ But he couldn’t. He couldn’t make himself do it. In other circumstances, Danny would have teased him endlessly for saying such a thing. But right now he just wanted to get the conversation over with so he faked a laugh. “Maybe! You need to keep the romance alive girl! What are you doing?” Danny hoped that with that statement they would get over the awkwardness. He even tried to use the baby as a way out. “Oh my God! Get your hand over here, she's moving a lot now.” 

Danny really didn’t know what else to do or say.

“Wait, let me just wrap this in paper so I can throw it away.” Roy went to the kitchen and back. He didn’t feel Danny’s belly, he went straight for his measuring tape and went towards Danny, he had turned somewhat serious. “Alright, let’s get your new measurements.” 

Danny had already done this with him several times. Other times they had done it, Roy was always so cheerful but right now, he could see Roy’s face was stern, he didn’t know if it was for his flashback or if he was focused on measuring him. Still he didn’t want to talk about it so he didn’t even bother asking.

The atmosphere had turned so awkward. They were both extremely talkative people but at the moment, no one was saying anything at all. Once Roy was done, and had written down all the measurements on his phone, he put away his stuff. 

“Alright, I’ll bring the dress saturday and we’ll go to the gig after that right?” 

“Yeah, why don’t you come in a bit earlier so we can have something to eat and you can do your makeup here?” Danny said.

“Ok, that’s cool. I’ll see you saturday then.” And just like that Roy left the house.

Danny sat back down on the sofa, he was very worried.

 -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Roy went to his car and as he drove out of the property he couldn’t help but to have this feeling that what he just saw, was not a vision or a dream. 

It was a flashback.

He told himself repeatedly that it was absolutely impossible that what he saw had been real. He would have never had sex with Danny, he had always seen him as a friend, never had he seen him as a potential sex partner. Besides all this time he had Mike. He would never ever cheat on Mike, they were doing so great. 

_Also, if what he saw had happened then he was sure Danny would have told him._

They were both adults and very close to each other, so he would have definitely told him and they would have talked it over. 

He thought that maybe he shouldn’t pay attention to it. Maybe it was because he was visiting Danny so often, it was making him see these weird things. 'It didn’t happen.’ He told himself shaking his head. “Nope! That didn’t happen.” He said out loud and laughed. He made himself swear that he would not talk about it or even think about it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Girl! I loved writing this chapter! It's definitely one of my favorites so far in terms of the storyline. This can be considered the tip of the iceberg that Danny was able to just pass by. I read it several times, and every time it makes me cringe. Very happy on how it turned out. Next one is going to be a very fun chapter as you already know what will take place. We will see our beloved girls in their element. Hope I can do them justice, fingers crossed.


	9. What Makes Me Happy

A couple of days later, it was finally the day of the show and Roy went to Danny’s house as promised. 

Roy handed Danny the dress he made for him. Danny immediately proceeded to try it on.  “Oh my God! It’s gorgeous! I look so hot!” He said laughing. “Thank you so much girl! How much do I owe you?”

“Consider it a sample of my new maternity line.” Roy smiled. 

“For real? Yay!! Mom! Bring Roy more food! He’s giving me a custom made dress for free!” Danny yelled. 

“And… there's more.” Roy opened his luggage, took out a small present bag and handed it to Danny.

“What?” Danny said excited and curious as he received the present. “What's this?” He frowned but still smiled.

“Hurry! Open it!” Roy urged him.

Danny put a hand inside the bag, took the paper out and looked inside. He saw the fabric that was the same from his dress. He thought that maybe it was an accessory to go with it, so he pulled it out happily. When he took it out, he saw what he had grabbed was a very small sleeve and once the entire piece of clothing was out, he went nuts. “Nooooo!" Danny said, still not believing his eyes.

"Oh my God! Look at this! Ahh! I love it! Oh my god! Mom! You gotta look at this!!” Danny flew out of the room downstairs to the kitchen, wearing the dress Roy had brought for him and holding the gift in one hand.

“Mom look!” Danny grabbed the little piece of clothing with his two hands and showed it to his mom. It was the exact same dress he was wearing but in newborn size. 

“Aww… look at that! That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! She’s going to look fierce! Just like her momma!” His mom wiped her hands and went to grab the little dress.

“Just like me! Isn’t this the prettiest thing? This is her first gown!” He looked at Roy who had followed him downstairs and was facepalming himself.  "That's not a gown! It's just a replica of your dress but very very tiny."

“I love it! Thank you so much girl!” Danny went towards Roy and hugged him. 

Roy hugged him back. “Alright too much love! We gotta get ready. We go on stage in two hours!”

They both went back upstairs, Danny was still hugging the little dress. “I can’t get enough of it. I love it.”

“I’m really happy you like it!” Roy said satisfied. 

Once in Danny's room, they took their time doing their makeup. Danny felt so good getting ready for a gig, it had been a while so he was definitely enjoying every second of the process. 

Bianca had chosen to wear a red long sequin dress, it had long sleeves and that classic off-shoulder cut she was well-known for. She had accommodated her wig so that it was all up and curly, the hairdo was finished by a large headband made out of the same material as her dress. She was putting on the finishing touches when she saw how Adore was coming back to life.  Danny had chosen to wear black stockings under the dress, big enough around the waist so that it could go all the way up to his torso covering his belly. Then, he decided he was going to wear high heeled boots, since he felt those wrapped around his feet and legs tighter and were safer to walk in while looking hot at the same time. He put on the dress right after he finished putting on his make up. Lastly, he put on a wig that had long and curly blond hair with black roots and then put on a cute white top-knot headband. After so many months, Adore Delano was very much alive. 

“Bonnie! Come look at her!” Roy yelled. A second later Bonnie came through the door and laughed her ass off. “Omg! She looks like a knocked-up teenager!” 

Roy also laughed so hard at Bonnie’s comment. 

“I’m looking for my baby daddy.” Danny said in a spoiled girl voice which made everyone else laugh so hard, Bonnie had to go to the bathroom and Bianca was sitting on the floor laughing her ass off. “I’m still a virgin you know. One day I saw a dove and boom! the holy spirit put a baby in me.” Adore kept going at it purposely, making her mom and Roy shed a good amount of tears.

After their good laugh, Bianca took her phone out to take some pictures. It was not likely that Danny was going to wear drag like this in the near future. Bianca had brought a white belt with a ribbon and put it around Adore’s torso right above her belly. She looked absolutely beautiful. Roy and Bonnie couldn’t stop taking pictures and Danny loved posing for them.

Bianca then gave her phone to Bonnie so she could take their picture. They did different poses but Bonnie’s favorite was one in which both queen’s hands were sort of cradling Adore’s belly. Then she got to take pictures with Adore. And finally the three of them set the phone to the side and took timed pictures. 

Adore then grabbed Bianca's phone and looked at all the pictures. “Oh my god! These are definitely going on the baby book!”

“You don’t even have a baby book you idiot!” Her mom said.

“One day I’ll get one.” She laughed.

“Danny it’s already eleven, we have to go now or we won’t be there on time.” Bianca said as she took the white belt off Adore and made the dress fit really loose again, which was still pretty.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Once on the venue they went straight to their assigned dressing room, Roy had arranged for both of them to share one, exclusively for themselves. They were told they had arrived just in time. Adore was scheduled to sing in about 10 minutes right after Trinity's performance, so they just headed straight to the stage.  There was nothing more enjoyable for Adore than watching his sisters perform. He loved to watch their art and their own perspective of drag come to life on stage. It didn’t take long for Trinity to finish her number, it was now Adore’s turn.

The host was on the stage. “And now! The queen you have been waiting for! Here she is! The amazing! The wonderful! The talented! Adore Delano!!”

The crowd went crazy. Adore came on stage singing to “I Adore You.” She enjoyed every second of it, the lights, the crowd’s excitement, she lived for this. This was her. And herfavorite moment of the night, the baby inside her kicking frenetically as she sang the songs she wrote. This was what she wanted, a night she would never forget.

She sang for about half an hour when she started to feel winded, something that had never happened to her before. She decided she would change the song list to something a little bit less energy consuming. She made a hand motion to the staff members and they immediately brought a high chair and a mic stand. Then the piano melody of Bohemian Rhapsody started playing. The crowd roared at the sound, and when she started singing, the entire club sang with her. It was very special for everyone. 

The last song was 27 Club, which she barely managed to finish because she was exhausted. She didn’t know it would become so much harder to sing in her condition, but she had done it. She had sung the entire time, feeling her baby moving to her voice inside of her. She gave a last bow to the crowd, thanked them and headed to the side of the stage. 

She walked towards Bianca who was still clapping for her, all of a sudden she felt her right foot pull something and get stuck.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Bianca saw it all happen in slow motion. 

Adore was leaving the stage after her performance, all of a sudden he saw a cable being pulled by her right foot as she was walking towards her. Adore couldn’t finish taking the next step which made her fall forward, ending up on her hands and knees. 

The entire crowd gasped.  Roy immediately went towards him and kneeled.  “Danny talk to me. Are you okay?” He was so worried.

As soon as the crowd saw Bianca come on stage, they immediately started screaming and clapping.

“Oww…” Adore frowned and placed a hand on her belly.

Had it not been for the make up, Bianca’s face would have been completely white. “Can you stand up?” He gave the staff a demanding look. “I need some help over here!” He yelled desperately.

“No, no, no,” Danny shook his hand. “I’m fine, it’s just- my knees hurt.” He was embarrassed. “Just help me up.” 

Roy quickly stood up and then helped Danny up as t he crowd cheered and clapped.

The staff from the event approached them to make sure he was alright. Adore told them he was fine as she went to their dressing room, holding on to Bianca’s arm since she had been left with a bit of a limp.

Adore sat down on a nice padded chair. “Danny are you sure you are okay? It’s just your knees? Nothing up here hurts?” Bianca said waving at her own middle section. 

“No, she’s fine.” She placed a hand on her belly and rubbed it in circles. “She had a blast man! When I started singing she was moving so much. She loved it! You are going to be a singer like momma aren’t you? We are going to get gigs and smoke weed together.” She talked to the baby and smiled.  Bianca also sat down in a chair nearby. “Girl! I saw you falling in slow motion! It was horrible! My heart is still beating so fast! I swear this is the thing nightmares are made of!” She said, relieved her friend was okay.

“I’m fine! We’re okay!” Danny looked at his hurting knee, he had ripped his stockings and there was a one-inch hole in them, revealing a slightly swollen red knee.

A person from the staff came to get Bianca, it was time for her to be on stage.

“Alright, I gotta go now. I will be back here in half an hour and after that we're going home. That was enough excitement for tonight!” Bianca said quickly putting some powder on her face.  “I’ll be right back!” She said waving Danny bye, closing the door behind her.

It only took matter of minutes for Adore to get bored, so she decided to go and sit somewhere next to the stage to see Bianca del Rio in action. She loved her shows, no matter how repeatedly she saw them, she always laughed her ass every time. Bianca said she was going to take only 40 minutes but it had already been about an hour. She could tell Bianca was having fun, she was in her element. 

When Bianca was done and about to leave the stage, the host intercepted her and pulled her back. 

“Bianca del Rio everybody!”

The crowd screamed and clapped. 

“Thank you so much for coming to this event in support of our friends battling with HIV and AIDS! I want to call the queens back up on stage so they can get the applause they deserve.” Adore that had been watching the entire show from a side, stood up and started walking towards the stage with a slight limp. Trinity who had been next to her noticed, and grabbed her by the arm to help her. Once all the queens went on to the stage, they stood next to each other and gave a final bow to the audience.

Adore was enjoying every minute of it since she didn’t know when would be the next time she would get on a stage. She looked at the crowd, as they were cheering for them, she felt his baby moving inside her. 

It was perfect. 

While she was looking around the crowd as she always did, she saw a somewhat familiar face. The lights were blinding her a bit, so she tried to focus narrowing her eyes. She had definitely seen him before, but she couldn’t remember where. She only kept staring at him, she had this feeling she knew him from somewhere. All of a sudden it came to her, making her gasp bringing a hand to her mouth. 

This action did not go unnoticed by Bianca who was next to her. She saw all the queens waving at the crowd, except for Adore, her gaze was fixated towards the crowd.

“Danny?” She spoke in her ear as she could see her looking at the crowd. “Danny! Are you okay?” She screamed at her still smiling and waving towards the crowd.

Bianca could see Adore’s breathing getting faster as she placed a hand on her chest, her eyes still fixated to a specific point in the crowd. Bianca had to shake her arm a bit so she could get a response from her. “Danny!” Bianca screamed.

“I see him.” She got close to Bianca and whispered in her ear.

“Whom?” Bianca said trying to smile towards the crowd as wide as possible pretending nothing was going on.

“The other possible dad! It's him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if the last few chapters feel a bit rushed. This chapter has been ready for a while so I didn't want to postpone the upload any longer. It takes me hours to edit each chapter, every time I read one again after a while, everything feels wrong. Maybe I should just upload as I finish.  
> Anyway, just when Danny thought he was doing okay, he sees the other possible daddy. Can things get more complicated for him? Yes, I definitely think so.  
> Thank you for reading! Can't wait for you to read what's coming next.


	10. Found One

“The other possible dad! It's him!” 

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she quickly snapped out of it. “Do you see him? He’s right there with the white shirt and the yellow glow sticks!” 

Bianca looked for the guy narrowing her eyes, trying to focus despite of the lights in front of her until she saw him. “Okay, I see him, now what do we do?”

“C’mon! I need to get at least his number!” They waved to the crowd a last time and stormed off the stage before anyone else.

Adore was pulling Bianca towards one of the staff members. 

“Are you sure that’s what you wanna do? Have you thought this throughly?” Bianca looked at Adore expectantly and confused at the same time.

“No, but what else can I do? I'm never gonna find him again if he leaves!” Adore grabbed one of the staff members, pointed at the man and told the girl to bring him to her dressing room without saying it was Adore calling for him. 

“Alright! He’s coming!” Adore said victorious looking at Bianca. But then just like that her eyes widened and her smile slowly faded. “Wait a minute, I don’t wanna talk to him! He’s gonna recognize me! Nooo!” Adore gasped and covered her mouth. She looked around her and set his eyes on Bianca who seemed to be a mere spectator to all this. “I know! You! You can get his number!” Adore grabbed Bianca's hands pressing them tightly. 

“Wait, what?? Me??” Bianca’s voice was so high. “What am I going to say to him??” 

“I don’t know! Just go, get his name, age, address, anything!” Adore then pulled Bianca towards the hallway where the dressing rooms were. All the way in the back was the staff member coming with the guy in question next to her. As soon as they saw them, they turned around so that he just saw Adore and Bianca’s backs.

Adore whispered to her. “Anything is good. You got this.” And she quickly ran inside one of the other dressing rooms leaving Bianca alone in the hallway. 

Bianca just wanted to smack her head to the closest wall.  When she turned around, the staff member and the guy were a few steps away from her.

“Hi!!” She let out a huge smile as she saw them getting closer to her. The mission was very clear, she was determined to get as much info on this guy as possible. 

She thanked the staff member and shook the guy's hand. "I'm Bianca del Rio. Nice to meet you." 

"I'm Jesus. How are you doing?" The man replied.

Bianca opened one of the dressing rooms and invited him in. “Come on in! have a seat!” 

They sat next to a table where the man immediately made himself comfortable. He sat back on the chair, spread his legs apart and placed his ankle on top of his knee, his arm leaning on the table, body facing Bianca.

“Bianca del Rio! It’s so nice to meet you!” The guy seemed nice. He had fair skin, light brown eyes, a small nose and plump lips. He had curly hair and it flowed about right to behind his ears. He was tall and well built, overall a very good-looking man. He was wearing a white tight fitting short sleeve shirt with jeans and sneakers. In her mind Bianca had already thought about the many ways she could approach the subject with this guy. But first and foremost she needed to know the basics.

“How are you? What’s your name?”

“I’m Jesus, Jesus Reyes.” Bianca closed her eyes and shook her head. She was not that good on spanish but she immediately knew what those words meant.

“What?” She smiled and held in a laugh. “Really? like Jesus Kings?”

“Yeah!” He didn’t seem to mind Bianca’s reaction, it was almost like he was used to it. “And you want to see something even better?” He grabbed his wallet from his back pocket and took out his ID. “My birthday is on December 25th.”

That’s when Bianca lost it and started laughing her ass off. “No way!” She couldn’t stop laughing. “Oh my God! Can I take a picture of your ID? This is hilarious!” 

“Sure! Go ahead!” The guy handed her his ID.

Bianca grabbed it and quickly took a picture of both sides of Jesus’ ID. “Thanks! the girls are going to have a good laugh at this! No offense!”

“It’s alright! Most of them know me anyway!”

The comment raised a flag for Bianca. “Oh really?”

“Yeah! This is my favorite bar! And also most of the girls know me, if you know what I mean.” He ended the sentence with a wink.

Bianca didn’t know what to think. “Well, let me just get straight to the point, the reason I called you is because we are looking for people that are familiar with the thematic of gay bars and drag queens to be part of our staff, just like the girl who brought you here.”

“Oh wow! Awesome!”

“So tell me a little bit about you.” Bianca had very high expectations, this man could possibly be his niece’s dad. 

“Well… I’m 37 years old, I’m from Mexico but I grew up here in California. I went to school until the 10th grade, then I realized that school wasn’t for me. I was never good at reading, math or all that shit so I dropped out. Ever since, I have always been living every day of my life as if it was the last, you know. Sometimes I’m a construction worker, other times I’m at the good old McDonald’s, I just get the call and I get to work every time they need me. That’s been enough for me all these years, and I’m grateful for that. I have a roof on my head, food on the table, I’m a simple guy, I don’t need more.”

“Alright” Bianca didn’t know what to say, she just hoped it would get better. “You seem like an interesting guy. Where do you live?”

“I live in Emeryville, I share an apartment with my parents. I don’t know why is it so shameful for some Americans to still live with their parents. In Mexico, the kid only leaves home when he gets married. Meanwhile, I’m still with them, we help each other out and we are together.”

Bianca nodded and rolled her eyes without him noticing. “Yeah. No shame in that.” Bianca popped another question. “Have you ever thought of settling down? Getting married? Have a family?… Moving out?” She was really hopeful for him to have a good answer for this one.

“Oh, no, no, no. As of now, I have no interest in getting married or anything.” 

Now she prayed to anything holly the answer to the next one was at least a bit promising, she interrupted him. “No children? nothing?”

“No! I mean, like I said before, I just want to enjoy life. A partner or kids are not what I see in the future for me, not at all!”

Bianca interrupted him. “Alright, let’s just say… What if I were to tell you that you got a girl pregnant? What would you do?”

Jesus laughed. “That’s impossible. I’ve only had sex with a girl once and this was back in high school and as far as I know she got no kids of mine. It’s all been guys after that. That’s a way of making sure I will never have children.” He sounded proud as he was saying this. “I know that with my lifestyle, my options in life are very limited but that’s fine with me.” He shook his head “I can’t raise a kid with the money I make, I barely stretch my paycheck to last me the week. So I’m never ever having kids. It’s completely out of the question.”

Bianca’s heart shattered to pieces. She didn’t want to keep listening to what this man had to say. “Alright, you know what, give me your number. We will call you if we need you.” She stood up, placed both fists on her waist and turned her back on him. She looked at the floor feeling defeated.

“That’s what I like to hear!” He said excited.

Bianca sighed, she saved his number and address on her phone and let the guy out. She was so disappointed. This guy didn’t have any aspirations in life, he just lived day to day, he was not the type of person Danny and the baby needed in their lives.  He wished for them to have a good and hardworking man around them who could be there for them, support them and cherish them. This guy only thought about himself. 

“Oh… God…” Bianca paced around the room, slowly shaking her head thinking about Danny and the baby, feeling completely defeated and disappointed. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

After leaving Bianca in the hallway, Adore entered the first dressing room she saw and closed the door behind her, not even looking who was inside. Once she turned around she saw Kameron Michaels, Valentina and Trinity changing their clothes.

“Adore! Girl, you were amazing! Where have you been? It’s been a while!” Trinity said to her.

Adore was still a bit nervous about what was happening in the other room. The two possible baby daddy’s were next door having a conversation. It was good the other queens were there so she could take her mind off it for a little while. 

“Oh hey! Thanks!! Yeah! it feels like it’s been forever since I got to perform! I think it was like 4 months ago? Not sure” 

“Are you doing okay girl?” Kameron asked.

Adore made her way to the closest chair, sat down, grabbed a fan on the table, snapped it and waved it towards her face making some fresh air for herself. She was somewhat gasping for air from all the hassle she had gone through in the hallway.

“Do you need help?” Valentina asked.

She was still catching her breath.  “I’m good thanks it’s just that…” 

Adore really wanted to tell them that she was pregnant and having a baby. She was so proud and happy about it, she wanted to share it with the world. But at the same time, this was bigger than any other secret and there was so much at stake. His family's privacy was a priority right now. Her sisters had sure kept Drag Race secrets from other queens before but he’d rather have only people very very close to her know the truth about her condition. 

“I’ve been having some health issues, It’s not safe for me to perform anymore.” 

The three other girls who were busy taking their make up off and listening to her, quickly turned their heads to see her.

“Oh my god girl, are you okay?” Valentina asked. 

“Yeah! Don’t worry! It’s not going to kill me… I think.” 

The girls gasped at the same time.

“No! No! I’m not gonna die! It’s just complicated… I really wish I could tell you but right now it’s a bit hard for me to talk about it. But it's gonna be okay. I think. ”

“Oh my god! Adore, I know you will get through this, just stay strong and if you ever need a bitch, we’ll always be here to help you.” Trinity approached her and gave hear a hug.

“Aww… thank you.” Adore loved his sisters, at least most of them. 

“Are you going to change and stay for the party?” Valentina asked.

Adore stood up to get a bottle of water, all the hassle had made her thirsty. “No, I think we had enough excitement for the day. I’m exhausted.” She took the cap off the bottle and began drinking large gulps of water.

“We?” Valentina caught that.

Adore choked on her drink and started coughing uncontrollably. “We! I mean Bianca and I!” She managed to say in between coughs.

“Girl! There are rumors you have been seen together a lot! Spill the T! Right now!” Kameron raised her eyebrows towards Adore and smiled to her.

“Well yeah, she is my girl and we live close by so she is pretty much at my house all the time.” She said finishing her water.

“Aww… she’s part of the family now.” Kameron said as she wiped lipstick off her lips.

“Yeah!” Adore exclaimed. “She’s always been family.” She said contented. 

They continued talking about other queens among other stuff. Meanwhile Adore helped them take their wigs off and unzip de back of their dresses. God she missed the life of a performer, she missed the smell of alcohol and other things in a dressing room, it always meant fun for her. She saw the girls’ drinks and oh she wished she could have a sip, just for the taste. But she knew better than that, it was out of the question.

Without noticing, about 15 minutes had passed, she told the queens she would be right back and left the room. The hallway was empty. She quietly went to the dressing room Bianca and the man were in and pressed her head towards the door. She heard nothing so she quickly let herself in.

Bianca heard the door opening, it was Adore.

“Omg! Girl! Tell me! How did it go!” She came in and sat on the seat Jesus had left a few minutes ago and placed her hands flat on the table eager to listen to what Bianca had to say.

Bianca faced him and sighed. “Well… Mission wise, it went completely well. I have a picture of his ID and everything.” 

“No way! How did you get that?” Adore said excited. “Send me the picture!”

Bianca grabbed her phone and sent her the picture. 

“Yes! It’s definitely him!” She said looking at the picture on the ID, then she read the entire name. “Jesus C. Reyes?" Adore frowned. "What the fuck? Are you serious?” Adore tried to remain serious but she really couldn’t and started laughing her ass off, making Bianca laugh as well.

“Jesus Kings? What the hell?” Adore couldn’t stop laughing. 

Bianca then looked at Danny’s phone and flipped to the next picture. “And it gets better, check out his birthday!” 

Adore screamed and laughed so hard. “December 25th! Oh my God! This is terrible!” She grabbed her belly, she was laughing so much it hurt. She then looked down at it. “Sweetie, your daddy might be a prophet!” Adore caught her breath for a minute. “Oh God! This can only get better! Keep going!” She said excited.

Bianca’s laugh quickly died down and sighed. “Danny actually I think that is the only good thing about him.” She said with half a smile.

Adore frowned. “What?” He shook his head. “Why?”

Bianca told her everything. Adore paid close attention the entire time. She couldn’t believe her ears. 

This guy was a complete slacker. 

Adore couldn’t believe it, she was so upset. She stood up completely pissed off and threw the chair she had been sitting in towards the wall. “Fuck!”

“Danny calm down. This can’t be good for the baby.” Bianca stood up and grabbed him from the back of his shoulders. 

Adore strongly pushed his arms away and freed himself. “I need to be alone.”

Bianca knew that was not happening. “I’m staying in that far corner over there but I’m not leaving you alone.” She said as she walked towards the most distant corner of the room with her hands raised up in the air.

Adore placed both fists on a table and leaned on it. “Fuck! Fuck! Why did it have to be a guy like him?” She screamed bumping the table with her fists twice. She felt like a complete failure. 

Bianca thought Danny was only upset because of how this guy was. But in reality it was not only that.

Danny had been very hopeful this guy was a better person than Roy. 

It was definitely a lot to ask, but at least that way he could really hope that the baby’s daddy was this guy instead of Roy. He had so many doubts and right now so many insecurities, he wasn't sure about what he wanted. His mind was turning into a complete mess. 

Did he want this stupid person called Jesus to be the father of his child? If the answer was yes then he would be lying to himself, and if the answer was no, then the other option was Roy. But he couldn’t want for Roy to be the father, that would imply telling him what happened that night. He couldn’t bring himself to do that. 

Did he want Roy to be the father of his child? If the answer was no, then would he be lying to himself? No! Deep down he knew all he wanted, was for Roy to be the father of his child! Roy was wonderful! He was amazing! He was the most incredible human being on earth! But Danny was too scared to tell him the truth and find out how would that change their relationship. 

And then, what he hated the most was that it wasn’t up to him, he couldn’t choose, he couldn’t do anything about it. At the end of the day his baby would be the one to decide their fate. Only a DNA test would show who the baby’s biological father was and his life would change forever. 

There were so many thoughts racing through his mind. There was a long moment of silence.

“That’s it.” Adore said as her voice broke between words. “I will be her only parent.” She slowly shook her head. “I’ll raise this kid by myself.” She sounded mad but also sad at the same time. 

She turned around and faced Bianca.

Bianca could see Adore’s eyes were glassy, filled with unshed tears. The look in her eyes screamed fear, sadness but also great determination. “She’s mine, all mine and only mine.” Adore took a deep breath, her expression softened and placed a hand on her belly. “We had a fun night, didn’t we little fishy?” She said with a blank stare.

Adore could feel her baby starting to kick frenetically towards her hand making her smile. “It’s so funny.” She looked at Bianca. “Sometimes I think she understands what I’m feeling. She started moving just now.” She let out half a smile and wiped the tears welled up on her eyes. “Baby, we are going to be just fine, I’m gonna be your mom, your dad, whatever you want me to be.” He tried to smile then but he couldn’t, tears were overflowing and already trailing down his cheeks.

There were many things Bianca wanted to say to Adore, but she could see that she was sad and distressed. Right now was not the right time.  She got close to Adore and embraced her in the most heartfelt hug. “It’s gonna be alright. You’re gonna be okay.” 

Adore couldn’t hold it any longer, she cried her heart out on her friend's shoulder that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a sad chapter to write. We are getting close to the part everyone wants to read about guys! I'm so excited! I hope you enjoy the lengthy chapters. They are so time consuming to edit but as a ff reader, I love long chapters as well.  
> Actually I did meet a guy in a club named Jesus once, and he was so drunk he showed me his ID and his birthday was December 25th. Also in school I had an english teacher named Jesus Rey. You mix these two and you get a great potential baby daddy.  
> Did anyone go to DragCon? If you did I hope you had tons of fun and enjoy it for the ones that didn't get to go as well. That's definitely on my bucket list... one day.  
> As always thank you for reading and thank you for your comments. Hope you have an amazing week!


	11. Party

Danny spent most of the time in his room the entire week that followed. The only time he left his room was to grab something to eat or to go to his doctor’s appointments.

The doctor said he was beating the odds and everything was going as any other regularpregnancy. They talked about the results from his DNA test, which came back positive confirming the diagnosis of female pseudohermaphroditism. Danny already knew it was going to come back positive, so it did not come as a surprise but it gave him satisfaction that he was diagnosed and that his pregnancy had an explanation.

The doctor also congratulated him for passing the 25-week mark. He said he was doing an amazing job with the pregnancy and that in a couple more weeks they would do an MRI so that they could study Danny's anatomy in depth and figure out if he was going to deliver naturally or via c-section. Since he was a high risk pregnancy, he was given steroid shots to help mature the baby’s lungs a little faster and also his monthly dose of hormone suppressants and stimulants. 

Danny had changed after that last performance. 

He had turned more responsible in regards to anything related to the pregnancy. Even his mom was surprised to see her son paying so much attention to his pill schedule, the food he ate and even the exercises he did. He also watched documentaries and videos containing information related to the baby. 

Danny had told his mom everything that happened the night of the show and how he felt about it. She tried to reassure him that no matter the decision he made, he would never be alone through all of this. Danny and his child would always have her and the rest of the family. She was sure Danny already knew this, but for some reason it seemed to her there was something else that stopped Danny from truly believing that he was not alone. Her son smiled less, he laughed less and he spent most of the day locked up in his room. She had even suggested throwing the gender reveal party over the weekend, but Danny said he really didn’t feel like he had the energy to plan a party. 

She knew there was something wrong with her son, she had tried to get him off the bed the best way she could, but nothing she did seemed to be working.

Bonnie told Danny’s brothers and cousins what was happening. They tried to talk to him into going out to get something to eat or even just go for a ride but Danny would always refuse. One of his cousins mentioned that Danny was probably upset that he was not having a child with a person he loved. They knew Danny well and by making the decision of raising the baby all by himself, he was completely ruling out that vision he once had.

They knew they had to do something for Danny. He needed to be reassured that he was not going to be alone and that everything was going to be alright.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Danny dress up! We’re going to your tía’s birthday party.”

It was around noon and Danny was still curled up in bed wearing pajamas and watching netflix. “I don’t wanna go mom.” He said as he pressed his blanket tighter towards his body.

“I didn’t ask if you wanted to go shithead! I said dress up we are going now!” She said firmly, she was not having it this time.

“I don’t want to go, I’m not going.” He didn’t even bother to look at her.

Bonnie was actually fed up at this point, she had had enough. “Fine, I’m taking the router with me.” 

Danny now looked at her, but once again he didn’t seemed bothered. “It’s okay, I have my phone.” 

Bonnie saw Danny’s phone on the table and quickly grabbed it. “I’m taking this too.” 

Danny quickly turned to her and frowned.

“What’s wrong with you? You can’t do that, give it back.” Danny’s face turned very serious, she hardly ever saw him like that. He pushed the blanket away and sat up slowly. His middle section had grown significantly the past few days limiting the speed of his movements. He placed both hands straight behind him, leaning on the bed. He didn’t know what had got into his mom’s head. 

“Danny, you come with me this once and I swear I will never ever ask you to come with me to anything in your life again.” Bonnie said putting his phone inside her shirt, right between her boobs. 

Had Danny not being feeling so down, he would have definitely replied back or even ran after her to get her phone back. All he wanted at the moment was to be left alone in his small one and a half person bubble, but he knew his mom wouldn’t give in, and his stamina level was way below zero. 

Danny closed his eyes, sighed and frowned. “I don’t know why the fuck are you doing this.”

Bonnie looked at him, almost challenging him.

Danny rolled his eyes. “One hour, that’s all I’m staying.” He said very upset as he slowly stood up to go to the bathroom.

“That’s perfectly fine.” She said excited as she left Danny’s room smiling. 

Danny went to the bathroom, took a quick shower and went to his room to change into whatever fit. He took his robe off and stared at his reflection for a couple of minutes. The drugs he had been taking were female hormone stimulants and male hormone suppressants so that he had better chances of bringing the pregnancy to term. His body had changed so much in the last few months. His facial hair growth had decreased a lot, being almost non existent and his chest felt very tender like never before. His hips had got a little bit wider and occasionally it hurt to walk. The change he hated the most was that his penis had become smaller, he couldn’t even see it anymore since his belly covered his view.

He stood in front of the mirror and stared at his reflection, he turned sideways and then turned around. He passed his hands through his belly putting on some lotion to prevent stretch marks. He felt his baby moving every once in a while as he did so which made him smile. He could tell the way his baby moved had changed, he could perceive it becoming stronger by the day and that made him the happiest. 

He put on underwear and he started taking pictures of himself naked in the mirror. Even though he felt enormous and he was not as agile as before, he was contented with his body and what it was capable of doing. 

It was the last few days of September and it had started to get chilly outside so he decided to wear an oversized dark pink sweater. It had long loose sleeves and a large warm turtle neck. Even though it was oversized, you could still see the curvature of his belly as the sweater fell loose over his torso. He wore the same black leggings he wore to his last drag show a few weeks ago, they gave him the right amount of support for his belly and were a blessing for his back. He finished the look with black knee-high laced boots. They were not high heeled, he didn’t have the energy to wear them anymore, not even for an hour. 

He sighed as he held his bangs backwards with two pink pins. He looked for his phone but then he remembered his mom had taken it from him so he just went downstairs and then out since the house was already empty. He saw his mom sitting in the driver seat waiting for him.

He opened the door, sat next to her and put on his seatbelt. 

“You look so cute!” His mom said looking at him. “And look at this little one, not so little anymore. All ready to party!” She patted his belly. Danny was still upset so he tried to push her hand away from him, but his mom was faster and took it away on her own.

“Why are you so happy? You are forcing me to go to this stupid party I don’t wanna be in!”

“Easyy! You’ll change your mind when we get there.” Bonnie proceeded to start the car and leave the driveway. “Just wait and see.”

Danny rolled his eyes, leaned on the door with his face resting on his fist. “Whatever.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Danny was not paying attention where they were going, until they got there. 

“Mom, what are we doing here? This is Roy’s house.” He said as they got out of the car. 

“Yeah! He let us use the house for the party.” 

“What?” Danny narrowed his eyes.

Bonnie was standing in the doorway with her hands full grabbing a tray of food. “Hurry up! This is heavy! Open the door!”

Danny passed by her and opened the front door quickly.

“Surprise!” 

Danny flinched letting the door go and bang the wall. 

“What the…” He couldn’t even finish his sentence from the impression. He opened his eyes so wide in surprise and looked around. His entire family was in the house. His brothers, his cousins, close friends of his mom who he considered tías. Some of his closest friends like Roy, Courtney, Darienne and Chris were there as well.

The look Danny had on his face was a mixture of surprise, confusion and excitement. “What’s going on?”

“This is your Baby Shower!” Courtney screamed from all the way in the back then everyone clapped. 

Danny took a good look at the house and he saw it was all decorated in shades of green, yellow and silver colors. Right in the middle of the living room there was a white table that had cupcakes, doughnuts and cake pops all over it. There were also small jars with marshmellows and m&m’s and also plates filled with candies and cookies. There were so many decorations on the walls and color themed paper strips hanging from the ceiling. 

Danny was still in absolute shock, he had both of his hands covering his mouth and nose, it felt a bit overwhelming but in a good way. 

He turned around to look for his mom who was behind him. “Did you know about this?” He said as his eyes turned glassy from the tears that were beginning to well in his eyes.

“Yes asshole! We did this for you!”

One of his cousins had taken the tray from Bonnie’s hands and before she could finish speaking Danny was already hugging her, holding on to her for dear life bawling his eyes out. Bonnie could not help to shed some tears as well. When Danny let go of his mom, he turned around, everyone saw his eyes were all red and swollen. He looked genuinely moved and that made the rest of the guests tear up as well.

“Oh my god! I- I- don’t know what to say- I’m-“ His voice broke between words. “I’m so shocked! I’m so moved you did this for me…” He pouted and started crying again “…and for her.” He said as he placed a hand on his belly. 

“Wait, he already knows what it is?” Darienne asked Roy.

“He thinks it’s gonna be a girl but he doesn’t officially know yet, it’s just what he wants!” Roy winked and laughed.

Danny heard him. “I heard you! I know it’s gonna be a girl!” He screamed all the way to the back making everyone laugh. 

He went further inside the house and went around greeting everybody. In a corner he saw a board that was divided in two, one side for girl and one side for boy, the guests had to put a post-it with their name on it on the side they wanted. As of now the side for girl was winning but not by much. Danny grabbed a pink post-it, wrote his name with big letters all over it and put it right next to where it said ‘Girl’. Then further along there was a box that said ‘Baby Name Suggestions’

“Oh! Look at this! I’m really curious to see what you guys wrote because I have no idea what I’m going to name the baby. Please put as many names you can think of!” He laughed pointing at the box. 

He was going around the house greeting everybody and in a corner he saw a huge white box filled with big boxes and presents. 

“Oh my God! I got presents?” Danny went towards the box.

“They are not for you, you idiot! They are for the baby!” His brother screamed.

“They are for me then!” Danny laughed.

One of his cousin’s got close to him and asked him for a selfie. It was then when he saw his red and puffy eyes. “Oh God no, look at me I look terrible. My lips are so pale.” 

Courtney was close by. “Come on girl, let’s go upstairs to put some make up on you.” Courtney made a motion to Roy to let him know they were going to his room to get some make up to which he nodded. Roy was busy helping Bonnie give out the appetizers to the guests.

“Yes, please.” They both went upstairs.

“Oh my God Danny, how are you? How are you feeling?” Courtney said as he put some powder on his face.

“I have to say I’m doing a lot better. I’m sorry I didn’t get to tell you personally but it’s just that it was complicated…”

“Honey, don’t worry I completely understand. I just care that you are okay and everything is alright.Right now we are celebrating this little one’s arrival! I can’t believe it! I swear it’s so exciting! I know the baby is going to look like you and oh my god! If it’s a girl, she’s going to be so so gorgeous! But I’m not gonna lie, having a boy look as cute as you, that will be so exciting too!”

“Aww… thanks!” 

“Alright, let’s just put some eyeliner here… make these lips match your sweater…let’s make this eyebrows fuller, and you’re good!”

“I haven’t put on make up in a while.” 

“Why?”

“I don’t know… well I do know… the thing is that…” Danny grabbed one of the brushes and started playing with it. “I found out that the possible father of the baby might be a guy that doesn’t want anything to do with him and is just a complete slacker.”

“Oh…” Courtney was saddened to learn this. “But honey, if anyone can do it on her own, that’s you!”

“I know but.. deep down maybe I did want a family for my kid, you know? I mostly grew up with only mom which was amazing, I love her to death. My dad was in the picture too and he taught me tons of things. I just still can’t get out of my head what it could have been.”

“Danny look at me.” Courtney put everything down, placed his hands on Danny's cheeks and softly turned Danny's face to face his own. “What’s happening to you is already a miracle. Don’t think about what could have been, because for a reason it didn’t happen, don’t beat yourself about it. Just look forward to what’s to come! And for you Danny, in your future there is a baby that’s going to need your love, your time and most importantly you! You also have been blessed with a wonderful family! All the people downstairs are here for you because they care about you and they want to be with you. Don’t think about what it could have been, I think it’s a type of masochism to be honest.”

Danny was so happy to hear another person’s opinion. “You know what? You’re right!” It’s just what he needed, strong words of encouragement. “I don’t fucking care! I’m going to be around for my kid and period! Whenever he or she asks for the other daddy, I will figure out what to do when I get there.” 

“That’s more like the Danny I know." Courtney said smiling.

“Thank you girl! I really needed this.” 

Courtney finished putting make up on Danny and fixing his hair and they headed back downstairs. Everyone had made some space in the middle of the room since they were going to play some games.

There was a nice big decorated chair for Danny to sit on. “Oh yay! I got my own throne! Hell yeah!” Danny said as he sat on it.

For the next hour they played a lot of different games. There was one in which the guys had to put a balloon under their shirt, and they had to take it out without using their hands which made them do very funny movements with their body to get it out making everyone in the place laugh. They also filled up some baby bottles with wine, and whoever drank it first was the winner. Roy and Danny's cousin participated in that one, and cousin won. 

They also had a piece of ribbon they passed around along with scissors and the guests had to cut it depending on how big they thought Danny’s belly was, the closest one to guess was the winner. 

Danny was very surprised since everyone’s tape was way over the size of his actual belly. “Okay! I know I’m the biggest I’ve ever been! But I’m not that ginormous yet!”

Only his sister in law got exactly the right measurement. “I’ve known him for so long, he’s always been very skinny and tiny!” She said.

They also had a game in which they were paired up and in one end of the room there was two people pretending to be the babies and in the other room there was the people that pretended to be the parents. So the parents had to grab a piece of oversized baby clothes, run towards their ‘baby’ and dress them one piece of clothing at a time. 

This was the funnies one because it was Danny’s brothers versus Roy and Courtney. Of course Roy and Courtney won, they were so fast, but Danny’s cousins’ were hilarious to watch since they had no idea what the clothes were so their baby was very funny looking.

Right after they finished playing, one of his cousins brought downstairs a huge black balloon. 

Danny knew what it was. He had seen so many different videos about couples revealing the sex of the baby to their families popping those big black balloons. “Oh my god! No!” Danny said but his face screamed yes. 

"It's all up to you Danny! Do you want to find out? Or should I just take it back upstairs?" John said as he started going back.

"No! No! Get back here!" Danny said as he extended his hands towards his cousin. At first he hadn't been sure about finding out the sex of the baby. But then he remembered he had a conversation with Roy about it. This party was to celebrate the arrival of his child who was already the love of his life. He wanted to know what he was having, knowing the sex would just make it much more real for him. He was dying to know.

Everyone got so excited.  Danny received the balloon from John, his mom was right next to him. There were phones recording the moment in everyone’s hands. 

“Oh my god! I just want to say, I will love a boy or a girl either way with all my being just like my mom loved a weirdo like me. This baby will be whatever he or she wants to be and I’ll be happy no matter what. I just want a healthy baby that's all.” He said as someone handed him a needle. 

“Are you ready?” He laughed, then looked at the balloon. He couldn’t wait a second longer and pressed the needle towards it. 

The balloon popped letting loose pink confetti all over the floor.

Danny and everyone present screamed so loud. They were all so happy since it was what Danny had wanted. Danny was jumping up and down with his hands in fists pulling them backwards screaming “Yes! Yes!! I knew it! I knew it!! I told you it was as girl!!” 

“Oh my God!” Courtney said. “He was right!” He said clapping.

Roy’s smile was so wide. He felt immense happiness learning the baby was going to be a girl.He knew that Danny was also celebrating the milestone of his baby reaching this day. He was so proud of Danny. 

“It would have been hilarious though, if it had been a boy.” Roy said. “The poor boy would have been destined to do drag before he even turned one.” He sighed, then they laughed together.

Danny hugged his mom who was right next to him in tears. Everything had turned out perfect, she was so happy for her son.

Right after, she sat Danny in a white chair decorated with now pink ribbons around it. “It’s time to open the presents!”

“You have to guess what it is, if you guess right you get to write with lipstick on the person who gave it to you. But if you don’t guess you get your face written on.”

Everyone look at each other and went “Uh-oh.” 

But Danny let out a mischievous smile. “Oh it’s on bitch!” He sat on the chair, crossed his legs as much as his belly let him and extended his hand to be given the first gift. 

One by one he guessed absolutely all of the gifts. He had been in his room for so long researching baby related stuff that he had become good at it. He got so many things. Most of them were gender neutral pieces of clothing. He also got a bimbo chair, a towel set, a beautiful baby play mat. Among the big gifts, there was a beautiful stroller which you could take the seat off to use as a car seat and then it could also transform as the baby grew which was given to him by Courtney. Darienne gave him diaper pail to put the dirty diapers in and Roy gave him a high chair for feedings. 

Finally his mom gave him her present, it was a little box. He opened it and he saw tiny little golden earrings. Danny couldn’t help to tear up a bit when he saw them. It was tradition to get your ears pierced as a baby in the latin culture. For his daughter to receive her first pair of earrings from his mom, it was very special.

Then all of a sudden one of his brothers brought a cake with many candles lit on top. "It's a couple of days early but everyone's already here so we're celebrating that too!" Danny started laughing as all of the guests started to sing happy birthday to him. 

"I can't believe this!" Danny covered his face as he laughed. Once they finished singing he made a wish and blew out the candles. Everyone looked at him expectantly. He knew what they were all waiting for. He was bad at making speeches but he knew that was the least his family deserved.

“Oh my God… gah! I’m not gonna cry!” He shook his head and waved his hands trying to make the unshed tears disappear. “I want to thank you so much for celebrating with me the arrival of my daughter. As you know, this was completely unexpected, you see, I was a boy until a couple of months ago…” Everyone laughed. “Anyway, I have been a little down lately because I made the decision to raise her on my own, but seeing you all here with me, makes me realize that that’s not going to be the case. I won’t be alone. It makes me so relieved and happy—” Tears were falling down his cheeks now. “To know that she already has so many people that love her and are here for her. Thank you so much.”

Everyone cheered for him and clapped. 

“It really means the world to me.”

Bonnie and Roy handed out some glasses with champagne for the guests and gave Danny soda.

Roy was asked by Danny’s mom to do the toast.

“Thank you everybody again for coming, here’s to a quick and safe delivery, a healthy baby girl, a rapid recovery and a long happy life for this new family. Cheers!” Roy raised his glass and everyone did the same.

Danny had not been expecting this at all.

In a corner he saw all the presents piled up and looking at them made it even more real to think that soon, his baby was going to be using all of it. In a little more than three months she was going to be in his arms and they were going to spend a lifetime together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this update is late again. When I posted last chapter it didn't even cross my mind I would end up having surgery on friday. Nothing life-threatening thankfully, but recovery sucks! I hate it! I'm better by the day but it's so bothersome and uncomfortable. Casts are itchy and not cool.  
> I needed distraction so I started editing this chapter and here it is. If I'm not wrong, this is one of the longest chapters by far. I hope you like it! It's pretty much the calm before the storm. The next few chapters might hurt, you've been warned. I'm not promising a date for the next chapter, but my intention is to get two chapters out within the week. Fingers crossed!  
> As always thank you for reading and for your comments!


	12. What Was Forgotten

Roy had been incredibly busy the past month. 

Ever since he moved to California, he had been doing six shows a week for two months sometimes even seven. Every other day he was called to record some content for different Drag Queen themed channels on youtube as well as interviews on TV. Also, since he was very well known for his sewing skills, he received about ten commissions for dresses per month to which he only accepted three or four depending on the complexity of the dress. 

Even though he was very busy, he wouldn’t have it any other way.  He never took for granted how fortunate he was, being able to make a living doing what he loved. As long as he had the strength, he would always keep working.

When he was free he was mostly at Danny’s mom’s house. Right after he moved to LA, Danny messaged him pretty much every day to come over to his place. His mom would always cook for them and they would spend the day eating or watching TV for a little while since Roy had to get back home to get to work on his commissions. 

Occasionally when Danny was bored, he would go back with Roy and he would keep him company while he worked. He would sit close by, listening to music or he would play with Sammy and Dede. When Danny went out with his cousins, he invited Roy to come with them as well and he got to hang out with them sometimes. 

Roy had adjusted very well to life in LA, except for the fact he missed one person dearly. 

Every other week, he flew in his boyfriend Mike over to California. They couldn’t spend much time together since Mike had a stable office job in New York and he liked to keep himself busy just as much as Roy did. 

Roy moving to California had been a big issue between them before he got to move officially. They both agreed they would stay together through a long distance relationship and as soon as one of them felt uncomfortable or really couldn’t deal with the separation then they would let the other know about it so they could talk it out and work on it. They were very open with one another and Roy liked that.

It was friday and Mike had come over to spend the weekend with Roy. It was almost 11pm when Roy got home. Mike was already there, he had been given a key. 

“Hey love!” Mike greeted him with a kiss.

Roy hugged him tightly. “I’ve missed you! How was the flight?”

“Way too long. I don’t know why every time I fly to see you it feels like it takes forever.”

Roy blushed a bit. “I love you too.” He smiled and kissed him.

“I cooked us dinner.” He held Roy’s hand and pulled him towards the kitchen.

Roy followed him. “I could smell that from outside! Is it Pasta?”

“Yeah! Come on let’s eat!”

Roy followed Mike to the kitchen, went to the stove and uncovered the pot with freshly cooked tomato sauce.  “This looks and smells amazing. I’m starving.”

“I had to go grocery shopping, your fridge was empty!” Mike said as he opened the fridge to take out a bottle of wine. “I think you only use it as a picture holder.”

The comment made Roy laugh. 

Mike took out the bottle, closed the fridge and pointed towards a picture on its surface. “Love, I wanted to ask you, what’s this picture?”

Roy had been taking out some plates, he turned around and saw he was referring to the ultrasound picture Danny had put up on the fridge.

“That’s Danny’s baby.” He said smiling. “He must have put it up there.”

“Aww, look at that! I really wanted to come for the shower but it got so busy at the office. How is he?”

“He’s doing alright. Baby is developing as she should—“

“It’s a girl! Wow!” Mike said smiling. “That’s amazing. I’m happy for him.”

“Yeah, he definitely rose to the occasion. I’m so proud of him.”

Roy had asked Danny whether he could tell Mike about him and the baby. On the spur of the moment, Danny didn’t know what to reply so he just said he didn’t mind. Later on, when he thought about it throughly, Danny concluded he didn’t mind Mike knowing about him or his condition. The only thing he wasn’t ready for was seeing him. Danny wanted to be able to look at him straight in the eyes and be able to apologize for what happened. But right now, he didn’t feel he had the courage to do so. Every time Mike came to visit Roy in California, Roy gave him a call inviting him over but he always refused.

“And when will I get to see Danny?” Mike asked.

“He’s always doing something when you come over, such bad timing.” Roy said.

“I know…” Mike said as he poured orange juice in two glasses. “Let’s have dinner my love, I’m starving.”

Roy loved it when he called him ‘my love.’ Mike was the only person in the world who could bring out the shy side of him and make him blush. He loved him. 

They had a very pleasant dinner and afterwards they went to Roy’s bed and watched a movie. They couldn’t finish watching the entire film. They had been so deprived from each other, they shared a night of rampant sex they would never forget.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Roy was pulling him towards his bed, they were both naked from the waist up. His love was in front of him crawling forward on the bed, he took his unzipped jeans and pulled them down right above his knees. To get them all the way down, he crawled forward so that his pants were right where they needed to be for better access. He spread his legs open and laid his chest on the bed with his arms wide spread in front of him. This was an invitation Roy was more than willing to accept. Wasting no time at all, he pulled down his pants and grabbed on to his love’s hips for dear life, only letting go to place his hand inside his lover’s mouth to get his fingers wet and prepare his erected member for what would be a night of passion. 

He thrusted into him deeply and rhythmically. His moans of pleasure after every thrust, it drove him crazy. They both came together at the same time, their breathing synced, so fast and deep. His lover’s skin was shinning so gorgeously. Roy was completely tired and satisfied. His partner was also so tired that he immediately fell asleep in the position he was in, face down. Roy threw himself to a side of the bed and stared at the ceiling for a little while. It had been splendid.

He wanted to look at his partner's body one last time before he went to sleep. He had a beautiful tattoo on his left arm. It was a skull surrounded by purple flowers and leaves. He stared at his shiny back noticing on his left butt cheek there was a crescent moon tattoo. 

Right there, at that instant time stopped for Roy. Mike didn't have any tattoos. 

Immediately, he looked at the face of the person lying beside him. At that moment, he felt as if his he was being choked, he lacked air. He could feel his palms getting cold and the beat of his heart right in his ears. The person next to him was not Mike at all.

_ It was Danny. _

Roy screamed sitting down on the bed and gasping for air. 

“Love? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Mike quickly sat up on the bed, turned on the lamp on the night stand and placed a soothing hand on Roy’s back. 

Roy was still pretty shaken, his breathing was fast and uneven. 

“God!— I can’t— I can’t believe it I—?” Roy looked around trying to make sure that what just happened had only been a dream.

“It’s okay, you’re okay, it was just a bad dream.” Mike’s hand went up and down Roy’s back. 

But in Roy’s mind the dream was vivid. He sat on the side of the bed, elbows on his knees and his forehead on his hands. He tried to calm himself down, tried some timed breaths but it was not working, he couldn’t get the image out of his head. 

“I’m gonna go make some tea.” Roy said as he stood up.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Mike said almost mumbling, barely awake. “No love, it's okay, just go back to sleep, I’ll get something to drink and I’ll be right back.”

Mike obediently laid back down again as Roy covered him with the sheets. 

Without making much noise, he went downstairs to the kitchen, made himself a cup of tea and sat in one of the couches. He looked outside through the balcony's glass door. It was all still dark, but you could see that characteristic blue color in the sky right before the wake of dawn. 

Roy slowly took a sip of his tea, it was hot so he let it rest on the table next to him for a little while, as he thought of what had just happened. 

He dreamt he was having sex, but not with Mike, it had been with Danny. 

But why did he dream he was having sex with Danny? Roy was sure the feelings he had for him were nothing more than the product of a beautiful friendship of many years. He thought that maybe it was because he was spending a lot of time with him and his family. Just the other day Danny had asked him to go with him to the baby’s third trimester ultrasound. He smiled when he remembered what he saw that day. Danny’s baby had grown so much, and she was moving, waving her little hands and also kicking around which you could see also when little parts of Danny’s belly moved on its own. He held Danny’s hand throughout the entire procedure, both smiling ear to ear while watching the baby. The moment had been so special for Roy that he took a picture with his phone to the stills of the baby the doctor had given Danny. 

Roy thought it was likely that was what was happening. The other alternative was that he was starting to have romantic feelings towards Danny and it really didn’t make sense to him. He did not look at Danny the way he looked at Mike, that’s how he knew he was not in love with Danny. But then why did he have this dream? 

Since it was still so fresh in his mind, he started going through the details. In the dream Danny was wearing a black tank top, his hair was all up in a bun and he was wearing dark tan pants. He recognized his tattoos, there was another one he had on his back right below his shoulder, it was many numbers in a row. Then there was one on his left shoulder, it was a skull surrounded by purple flowers and leaves. But the one that he couldn’t forget was the crescent moon on his left butt cheek. 

He couldn’t stop thinking why. There was still one possibility he dreaded even considering. What if it had not been a dream? What if it was a memory? The dream had been so vivid, it felt as if it had indeed taken place. But thinking rationally, he would have never allowed for something like that to happen.

All of a sudden he remembered that one day, when he was measuring Danny for the dress he was going to wear to his last drag show. When he looked at Danny’s back, excerpts from the exact same scene that he saw during the night came to his mind. Back then it was just little pieces from the dream, but tonight, he had seen it all. That time looking at Danny’s back, when he was cleaning spilled soda from a sofa, was what had triggered the vision. Danny was also so surprised to hear about it that he broke a glass. 

Roy grabbed his cup of tea and gave it a sip, it was cold already. Outside he could see a clear sky and the first rays of sun for the day.

Back on his train of thought, he still wondered why was this happening to him. Danny was one of those people he would never sleep with. He was one of his closest friends. If something had happened between them, he was sure he would remember and Roy was also sure Danny would have said something. 

Maybe he needed to talk to Danny about it, to just try to figure out the reason why he might be having these ridiculous visions.

He couldn’t get back to bed, so he decided to make breakfast for the two of them. He went to the kitchen and made some scrambled eggs, some lettuce, tomato and toast. When Mike went downstairs, he found the table all set up and ready for them. They had breakfast and he could see that Roy was not his usual cheerful self. He asked him if he was okay to which he replied that everything was alright and he didn’t feel like talking about it. Mike didn’t want to push it so he dropped the subject right there. 

They spent the weekend together, Mike went to Bianca’s saturday show and he laughed his ass off as always. On sunday, they had lunch in a fancy restaurant and then went shopping for some shirts for Mike. It had been a great weekend. They enjoyed each other’s company so much that time flew by and now it was time to drop Mike off at the airport. 

“I wish I could bring you back with me.” Mike said.

“I wish you could stay with me.” Roy sighed.

“It’s alright! Time flies and in 2 months you will be back in New York and I’m going to have you all for myself again. So until then, you got this!” Mike cheered him on.

“I can do this!” Roy laughed making a fist.

And just like that, Mike left and their weekend together was over. Even though Roy was sad his lover was gone, there was still something he wanted to do that night.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

He was on his way to Danny’s house when he got an unexpected call from a friend. He picked up and put it on speaker.

“Hey Josh? What’s up?”

“Roy! My friend! My best friend in the entire world!” Roy immediately noticed his friend was drunk. 

Josh was a friend Roy knew from the broadway industry working as a seamstress. Josh was also a seamstress in New York, but he relocated to California after he got offered a job there. 

“Josh? It’s sunday night, where are you?”

They used to go out to bars and drink a lot together but after a while Roy noticed the amount of alcohol they drank was too much and he needed to take it down a notch so he stopped hanging out with him as often.

“They are kicking me out of a bar! Can you please pick me up? Nobody else wants to come!” 

Roy rolled up his eyes and frowned. “Alright, where are you right now?”

“I’ll send you my location” Then he hung up.

About a minute later, he got a text with his location. Fortunately, it was not that far from his current location so he decided to pick up his friend and take him home.  When he got to the location, he found Josh outside of a bar sitting on the sidewalk. 

“I knew you’d come for me!” 

Roy opened the door from inside and let his friend in. “Really dude? You drink sundays now?” He laughed at him.

“Can we please get some coffee? My boyfriend is going to be pissed at me if I get home like this.”

Roy rolled his eyes and headed in the direction of the closest dinner his phone could find. Once there, they both sat down and Roy ordered coffee and a cheese sandwich for both of them.

“What have you been up to Josh?” Roy said, putting some sugar on his coffee.

Josh immediately took a sip and shook his head. “Oh God! I’m awake now.”

“Good for you. Now. Why were you drinking on a sunday night? Don’t you have work tomorrow?” 

“Yeah… I got three sequin dresses I need to get done by thursday.”

Roy almost spit out his coffee. “Three dresses? You should be doing that now! There is no way you are finishing those by wednesday.”

“That’s why I was out drinking man! I needed to de-stress.”

Roy took a sip of his coffee. “You are really something.”

Josh was chewing on his sandwich so he was speaking with his mouth full. “Oh! I’ve been wanting to ask you, how did it go that night? With the guy?”

He had no idea what his friend was talking about. “Guy? what guy?” 

“Remember the last time we hung out, you met this guy and started to make out.”

“What?” Roy was now frowning, “What are you talking about? What guy?”

Mike started laughing. “You forgot about it? God, you are terrible!”

“I have a boyfriend, I would have never done that.”

Josh shook his head. “I can’t believe you don’t remember. Stop playing dumb with me!” He laughed.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Roy widened his eyes at him.

“Dude! It was back in April remember? We celebrated that you finished your tour!” Josh said as he gave a big bite to his sandwich. “You were making out with everybody.”

Roy almost spit out his coffee. “What? No, quit playing with me. I think the people that were there would have stopped me from doing anything stupid.” Roy said very confidently. He had no recollection whatsoever of what he was talking about but he was aware they went out to celebrate that night with many people.

“This was after everyone left, it was only you and me. I swear! You made out with everybody! You are terrible dude!” Josh said shaking his head.

“What?” He couldn’t believe what his friend was telling him. He knew Josh for about ten years now, there was no way he would make something like this up. "You say we stayed longer?"

“Yeah! It was already 5:00 and you didn't want to leave."

Roy was just staring at him frowning, his mouth half open completely loss for words.

"God! You were so drunk! I knew you wouldn’t believe me when I told you so I recorded you.” Josh said laughing his ass off.

“Fuck! Are you serious?” Roy's frown deepened.

“Yeah and at the end, there was this one guy though, you wouldn’t let him go. It seemed like you knew him, he was very cute.”

Roy was in disbelief.

“You really don’t remember Roy? You took the guy home with you that night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it guys. It's coming and I couldn't be more excited. Everything has led to this part of the story and I hope you are in for this roller-coaster ride of emotions you are all getting on from this point onwards.  
> Thank you so much for your well wishes guys! I was so deeply moved by all of your comments. I am doing good. The cast is off and now it's just a matter of time until it is fully healed but so far it's all gone amazingly well! Thank you!! Hope you have a great weekend! As always thanks for reading and commenting!


	13. Tell Me It's Not True

Right then he felt like time stopped. One thing was making out with strangers but a whole different thing was to bring a person home. 

“What?!” 

“Roy! You went insane with this guy. After you made out with him you took his shirt off and then your own shirt. You were about to do it right there in front of everybody." 

Roy had absolutely no idea about a word what he was being told. He didn’t even know what to say to this.

Josh continued. “I tried to get close to you to try to get you to stop but when you saw me getting closer, you grabbed him and left.”

Roy’s jaw was half open and he kept shaking his head in disbelief. He couldn’t have done that, it was not like him. He couldn’t have done that to Mike. He loved Mike, there was no way. How could he have cheated on the person he loved the most? If all of this was really true then right now he was facing the possibility of losing Mike and that terrified him. 

His face turned serious and his frown deepened. “When did this happen?”

“Back in April, mid-april maybe? I don’t remember much about that night either. I just remember I was about to hit on the guy. Oh! He was a beauty.” Josh said smiling from ear to ear, that guy had definitely left an impression on him. “He was tall, dark brown slightly curly hair. He had many tattoos, even on his hands. But the one I can’t forget was the skull tattoo with purple flowers that he had on his arm. He looked so cool.” 

In a matter of seconds Roy turned as white as a sheet of paper. 

“What did you just say?”

“Yeah… He had a tattoo on his arm, it was a skull surrounded by purple roses I think. I can still remember his light skin and oh those gorgeous green eyes. He was very skinny but he was so loud! Really! If you hadn’t made the move first I would have been all over him.”

Roy suddenly started feeling cold. This couldn’t be happening to him. “Please swear to me you are not joking.”

“It’s true, I swear! I wanted to stop you but you wouldn’t let anyone get close to you. You saw me getting close, you grabbed him and took the first cab that was outside and left. I wouldn’t lie with something like this, you know me! The only reason I’m bringing it up is because I’m curious and I wanna know how did it go.”

Roy could tell his friend was being honest, he wouldn’t joke with something like this.  He felt his heart beating faster by the second. It was as if his head was about to explode from all the stress that was suddenly starting to build up within him. 

He felt himself getting nauseous. 

“Excuse me for a second.” Roy pretty much ran to the restroom and locked himself up inside. He sat on the toilet as he grabbed the sides of his head with both hands. 

“No, no, no.” He said repeatedly as he leaned forward. 

All the things he had just heard felt like they were scattered all over inside his head. But they all led back to the image of the same person. The person in the vision back then, the dream he recently had, the description of this guy he made out with and took home that evening and the tattoo he had. It all matched with the characteristics of one person he knew very well.

‘Danny’ The sound of his name resonated inside his head. He couldn’t even pronounce it out loud. 

He kept shaking his head in denial. 

No. It couldn’t be true. It had to be a horrible coincidence. Maybe he was seeing Danny’s face in the guy in his dreams because he was spending way too much time with him. That had to be it. Roy was trying so hard to connect the dots in a way that Danny was not in the picture. But the more he thought about it, the worst it got. His friend’s voice was still like an echo inside his head. 

_ ‘Skull tattoo with purple roses on his arm’  _

_ ‘You made out with him’ _

_‘You left with him_ ’

He wanted to stop thinking, but it was as if his mind was connecting the dots on its own pointing only towards one person  but he completely refused to believe it. It could not be true. If it was true then these visions, these dreams hadn’t been that at all. 

_ They had been memories. _

And that would mean he had really had sex with Danny.

His thoughts were driving him crazy. The walls of the restroom felt as if they were closing up on him and he started feeling suffocated. He stood up and leaned on the sink, facing down.  He slowly looked up to see himself on the mirror. He saw his eyes wide in fear and his skin pale slightly humid from cold sweat.

Roy kept shaking his head slowly. There was no way.

He then remembered that his friend had a video. As much as he hated the thought of even watching such a thing, he needed to do so. He quickly got out of the restroom and went back to the table. His friend had finished eating and was now checking his phone. 

“Do you have the video?” Roy’s look was very stern.

“Look! I was going back on my camera roll and I just found it.” He said giving Roy his phone.

Roy received the phone, took a deep breath and pressed play. 

It was very dark on the video, but not dark enough that he was able to clearly see himself hugging and kissing passionately this other person. Immediately he felt disappointed in himself. Then the video zoomed in and that’s when he lost it. He saw the young man wearing a black tank top, dark tan pants and his hair up in a bun making out with him. That was the man in his vision, he was sure of it. But he couldn’t tell if he was Danny or not.

Roy  felt like he was watching it in slow motion.  In the video, he saw himself taking this guy’s shirt off and then his own as they kissed. They were both so into it, feeling each other, hugging each other. Then he could hear his friend in the video calling him and approaching him. He saw himself looking straight to the camera for a second and then looking around the place he was in. He then turned to the closest exit and pulled the younger man with him towards it. As he was being pulled, the young man gave a last look inside of the club before he went along with Roy. That’s when he clearly saw him. That smile, those tattoos, that god damned skull with purple flowers and leaves around it.

_It was Danny. It really was Danny._

It had not been a dream. He had made out with Danny, he had taken him to his room and if everything he kept seeing was true, he had had sex with him.

“Fuck!” He screamed hitting the table with his fist making people around them in the dinner stare at him. He held his forehead still in disbelief. He had really done all those things. 

_They had been memories._

He felt himself getting agitated by the second, his breathing became superficial and fast. His eyesight seemed lost. Roy had paused the video in a frame in which he could clearly see Danny’s face.

At first Josh was laughing at him but then he noticed how upset Roy had become. 

“Hey, pal? Are you okay?”

Roy didn’t reply, he was completely absorbed staring at the screen. 

“I’ll never say anything you know… It’s okay.” Josh said in a very calm tone of voice. “It was just a one time thing. You’ll never see this guy again in your life, it’s all good. I swear I won’t say anything.”

Roy heard his friend’s words and shook his head. That was not true. He knew the man in the video, he was like family to him and he had lied to him.  On his friend’s phone, he quickly pressed some buttons and sent the video to himself. He then erased it on his friend’s phone and handed it back to him.

“I gotta go.” He placed a large bill on the table and went towards the exit.

"Wait! But I need a ride!—"

He left his friend disconcerted.

He got to his car and got inside as fast as he could. He was so shaken he couldn’t even get the key in to start it. Once he was able to start the car, he backed up in a single maneuver and got out of the dinner's parking lot. Had it not been that it was late at night and there were not cops through the streets he was driving in, then he would have definitely gotten pulled over. He was surpassing speed limits but he didn’t care. He couldn’t stop thinking about everything. 

That person in the video was clearly Danny. Roy tried really hard to remember, he tried to go back to that day when he woke up the next day, after he had supposedly had sex with Danny. He was sure that morning he woke up to an empty bed. If that had been the case then Danny would have woken up first and definitely seen him before leaving, but Danny had never mentioned anything to him, nothing at all.

He tried to think back around the time of the incident. He remembered that right about that time, Danny was completely avoiding him. He wouldn’t answer his texts, his calls, nothing. Little by little he started putting all the pieces together. The more he thought about it, he could feel himself getting angrier by the second.

There was only one way to get confirmation. 

Roy quickly parked the car in Danny's driveway, got out of the car, went towards the door and rang the doorbell. 

Inside Danny was home alone. He had spent the day with his cousins but they had left a few minutes ago. His mom had gone to his brother’s house to babysit his children for the night. He was in the living room watching TV when he heard a car entering the driveway. At first he thought it was his mom, but then the doorbell went off. He thought it was odd, he wasn’t expecting visitors. He stood up and opened the door. 

It was Roy. 

“Girl! What’s up?” Danny said smiling as soon as he saw him. His smile quickly faded when he saw Roy’s eyes were red, his frown deep and he had a very serious look on his face. “Oh my God, what happened?”

Roy didn’t reply. He just let himself in and went straight to the middle of the living room. Danny was very disconcerted. He closed the door behind him and followed him. He had never seen him like this before.

“Are you ok?” Danny frowned worried. 

Roy could only stare at Danny’s face. 

Danny could see in Roy’s eyes there was something terribly wrong going on with his friend. He softly placed his hand on Roy’s arm to try to give him some type of comfort. It completely took him off guard when Roy abruptly pushed his hand away and turned his back on him.

Danny pulled his arms close to his chest as his eyes widened in shock, Roy had never done that. 

“Danny, back in—” Roy said stuttering, still with his back to Danny. “Fuck!”

Danny just stared at him still shocked but very worried, Roy didn’t know what to say and he was not like that at all. He always had a reply to everything but right now he could see him fidgeting and looking around the room as if trying to find the words he was going to say. 

Roy had to face him. He turned around and looked at Danny straight in the eyes.

“Back in April—” Roy took a deep breath. “I saw a video of us making out in a bar.”

Danny widened his eyes stunned.

“I saw us, in a bar making out— and then—then I took you to my place.” He started pacing around Danny’s living room back and forth. “I keep having this dream—“ 

Danny now started getting what all of this was about and he tried telling himself it wasn’t happening.

Roy paused and looked at Dany straight in the eyes.

“I saw us, you and I having sex.”

Danny’s jaw dropped as he stood paralyzed in the living room.

Roy started pacing around the room. “I keep telling myself it’s just a dream. But it was so vivid!”

Danny blinked several times, as if making sure this was not a nightmare and was really happening.

“We had sex that night, didn’t we?” Roy said as he got closer to Danny, who immediately looked back at Roy straight in the eyes. “We had sex that night back in April and you left before I woke up the next morning, didn’t you?”

Danny had been caught completely off guard. He was not ready for this, he didn’t know what to say or do. 

“Babe? What are you talking about?” Danny replied with a half smile shaking his head trying to avoid his gaze. His hands and lips were slightly trembling. He did not want to answer that question. He knew he would be revealing everything if he did.

“Did it happen!? Did we have sex??” Roy raised his voice.

Danny didn’t know what to reply. He only stood frozen in the middle of the living room staring back at him. 

Roy had had it. He had enough and needed an answer immediately. 

“Fucking answer me Danny! Did we have sex or not?” Roy yelled at him.

No matter how terrified or nervous he was, Danny hated having someone yell at him. He never tolerated anyone raising their voice towards him.  “Don’t fucking yell at me!” He yelled back.

“Then tell me!” Roy said almost screaming.

“Fuck! Yes! It happened! I woke up and freaked out when I saw you there in the bed!” Danny yelled his reply. He then gasped, closed his eyes and covered his mouth with both hands at the sudden realization of what he had just said.

Roy’s eyes were wide opened just staring at him, getting glassier by the second. Danny immediately regretted everything. He felt his own eyes filling up with tears.  Roy then placed his fists on his waist and turned his back on Danny. He looked at the walls and the ceiling shaking his head. 

“Oh my god…” Roy couldn’t believe it. 

Danny had never felt so bad in his entire life. He could see Roy shaking and looking so disappointed. 

Roy turned around to face Danny again. Danny had never seen Roy like that. He could see so much anger and fury in Roy’s eyes that for a moment he became afraid of him. Roy then looked at him from head to toe very slowly. Danny hands were on his sides, but once Roy’s eyes set on his belly, Danny instinctively placed both arms around it protectively.

Danny’s reaction got Roy thinking about a detail he hadn’t considered. ’Wait a second… wait a fucking second… if we had sex in April, that was about 6 months ago…’ His mind was already going a thousand miles per hour.  Realization sunk in deep very quickly, his breathing became very fast. He could almost feel his heart beating out of his chest and started sweating cold. 

“The baby…” He whispered. 

Danny’s face turned into sheer horror at the mention of his child.

“Danny— the baby…” He was having a very hard time trying to get the words out. Roy’s eyes were switching from Danny’s face to his mid section several times. There were tears streaming down Roy’s face now out of frustration and anger. 

Danny was also in tears now from everything that was happening, the day had finally come for him to come clean but he wished it had not been this way. Neither Roy nor his daughter deserved it.

“Danny… Am I?” He spoke slowly, trying to calm himself down. “Is there a chance…” He was trying so hard to pronounce the words out loud. “The baby…” His voice broke between syllables, his lips were shaking. “Is she mine?” 

Danny had now started sobbing, he covered his mouth and nose with both hands and closed his eyes.  It was not supposed to go like this at all. He couldn’t move, he placed a hand to his chest and clutched his shirt. He gulped and stared at the ceiling, this was not happening. He wanted to escape, he wanted to run, he wanted to disappear but it was impossible. He felt his baby inside him kicking frenetically and grabbed his abdomen once again with both hands protectively. 

Roy had had it.

“Danny fucking answer me!” He screamed at him. “Is she mine?” 

Once again, Danny was being yelled at. 

“I don’t know! Maybe!” Danny screamed back at him.

Roy grabbed his head with both hands and turned around again. Tears streaming down his face, he didn’t know what to do. Out of anger, he strongly punched the wall closest to him, making Danny gasp and flinch holding his belly even tighter. Danny was afraid of Roy, he had never ever seen him so infuriated.

Roy turned back to face him, he tried to calm down but his feelings were so strong he couldn’t control them and started screaming. “Why the fuck did you do this?! What were you thinking? Why the fuck would you hide something like this from me?!”

“I was scared!!” I didn’t know what to do! I didn’t want to fuck up your life! You fucking didn’t remember anything! How could I do that to you?!” Danny screamed.

“Danny this goes beyond absolutely everything! That could be my kid you’re carrying!”

“Exactly! That’s fucking why! It could be as it could not be!! Don’t you see? If she’s not yours then you would have been around for nothing!! You have a relationship! You have an amazing career! If I fucking told you and this baby was not yours, I would have put you through hell for nothing!”

“That’s not it Danny. That’s not it.” Roy fast paced around the room shaking his head trying to calm himself down but he just couldn’t.  He was so angry at Danny for hiding something like this from him. He had every right to know. Harsh feelings had completely taken over him, he had to get out of there or he would start getting really hurtful and he knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself if he did. He turned around and headed for the door. Once he opened it, Roy turned around to face Danny again and pointed a finger at him. 

“Danny I swear if she turns out to be mine, you can forget about her! She is fucking coming with me!” He banged the door shut behind him.

Roy’s words hit him like a sharp knife stabbing him directly in the heart. That was it for Danny.  Over his dead body was he ever going to allow his daughter to be taken away from him. As fast as he could, he exited the house and watched Roy pull away from the driveway.

“You are gonna have to kill me first to take my daughter away from me you asshole! Did you fucking listen to me?? You’ll never have her!” He screamed as he grabbed a couple of stones from the ground and started throwing them towards the moving car. When he bent to keep grabbing them he lost balance and fell forward on his hands and knees. He was in all fours as he watched the car leave. He then placed one hand on his belly and started sobbing inconsolably. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you seen that meme of a guy poking another guy lying in the ground with a wooden stick? As if checking if he’s alive? I can relate to the guy with the stick. This one hurt, really bad in every way. It was so so hard to get right. It is if not the most important chapter of the story. When I first wrote it, it was only one chapter that included the one prior to this one. But I thought it was way too long so I decided to split it on two parts and then this chapter ended up being short so I had to elaborate more on it. For days I couldn’t get it right and I had to rewrite it several times.  Just now I’m happy how it turned out. I really hope it didn’t disappoint.  
> As always, thanks for reading and commenting!


	14. Please Help Me

“Mom, I need you to come home…” Danny said crying over the phone.

“Danny, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Roy was here, he knows everything! I don’t know how but he figured it out.” Danny was crying desperately like a small child pacing nervously around the living room.

“Oh my god…” Bonnie brought a hand to her forehead.

“He was so upset! He said if the baby was his then he was going to take her away from me.” Danny started sobbing, he could barely hold on to the phone with his shaking hands.

“Oh no… Danny calm down. Roy is not like that, he was probably upset.” She couldn’t believe Roy had said such a thing. 

“Over my dead body is he going to take her away from me!”

“Over our dead body Danny.” His mom said reassuringly.

“Can’t you get back home soon mom?” Danny pleaded.

“I can’t leave the house, the kids are sleeping and their parents will be back tomorrow morning.”

Danny was so frustrated, there was nobody else he could call. He knew his cousins were busy working their night shifts.

“Danny?”

“Mom, just— get here as soon as you can please.” Danny wiped the tears off his face.

Bonnie could feel great distress in her son’s voice. “I’ll be there as soon as your brother gets here.  If anything happens just call me, okay?”

“Okay.” Danny hung up.

He went to his room and cried himself to sleep that night.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Roy was on his bed, staring at the ceiling. His head hurt and felt heavy from everything he drunk last night. 

Everything that happened the day prior had been too much for Roy to get his around to. He needed an outlet, he needed to drink. He went to a bar and drank until they asked him to leave. He didn’t remember how exactly he got home, only that he got on his car and suddenly he was on his bed.

He closed his eyes and reminisced about the events of the night before.

_ He had cheated on Mike with his best friend. He had cheated on Mike with Danny.  _

He covered his face with his palms disappointed in himself. Mike who had always been so good to him didn’t deserve this. 

Then there was the issue with Danny. He knew they had slept together and he didn’t tell Roy about it. That was one of the things he was most upset about. Danny had had so many chances to tell him but he didn’t. He asked himself the reason why and his mind immediately gave him the answer.

_ The baby. _

Roy shook his head as he felt his own hands pressing towards his face shaking. There was a chance the baby Danny was expecting was his. 

He immediately felt fear. 

He never thought he would be a parent. Having kids was not part of his plans, he didn’t like them that much. Of course he was always fond of his friends’ kids but that was it. He liked talking to them and playing with them but at the end of the day they would go back to their parents and that was good enough for him.  Roy only thought about his future plans which only included work, travels and Mike. Again his train of thought took him back to Mike. Roy felt so terrible he started crying, he knew he was going to lose him. He pulled the covers up and made himself a little ball underneath them. 

Danny said that there was a 'possibility' he was the baby’s dad.  He understood that and he wanted to engrave that on his mind. He was not the baby’s dad yet,it was only a possibility. He had to think about each aspect of that possibility very carefully. 

What if he really was the her dad? It was so overwhelming to think about at first that unconsciously he let out a deep sigh. If the baby was really his, there was no question, he would definitely take responsibility. 

At that moment he felt somewhat possessive.  He was not a possessive or a jealous person by nature but just the thought of having something rightfully his hidden or taken away from him, made him incredibly upset. He didn’t know exactly what it was that he was feeling but he knew he had never felt something like it before. That child would be his daughter and by no means would he abandon her. He would be there watching her reach all her milestones and raising her. He didn’t have any doubts about it, he was definitely going to be there. 

 If she was his, then he was a hundred percent sure he would raise her with Danny.

_ Danny.  _

For a moment he had forgotten about him. That’s when he remembered the horrible thing he told him on his doorstep.

“Fuck!” He said punching the bed shaking his head.

He hadn’t meant what he said. 

This was Danny’s child as well. Roy knew first hand all the effort he had put into this pregnancy and how much he already loved this child. Roy would never take Danny’s daughter away from him, even if she was his own as well. He had been so upset at Danny for not telling him the truth that he just blurted out the first thing that came to his mind that he knew would hurt Danny the most.  The image of Danny kneeling in the driveway emerged on his mind and he felt terrible about saying such a thing to him. He shouldn’t have said that, had it been the other way around Roy would be completely furious.

He needed to have a proper conversation with him in order to clear everything out. He knew Danny very well. Maybe sometimes he didn’t make the right decisions and he was very insecure about things. But the one thing Roy was certain was that he truly cared about people. Whatever he did, his intention was good. It might have not been the right way to handle the situation but Roy was sure Danny didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.  He needed to talk to Danny urgently, apologize for what he had said and listen to his motives for hiding something like this from him. 

Then he also had to consider the other possibility. What if this child wasn’t his.

Even though he would not be responsible over a child anymore, no matter how hard he thought about it, his life would still change. How could he look at Mike and Danny the same way after all of this? 

He stayed a few more minutes in bed trying to put his thoughts in order. He then took a couple of slow deep breaths until he was calm enough to get out of bed. He had so many tough things to do now and he needed to get them done as soon as possible.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

It was about six in the morning when Danny’s brother and his wife got back so that Bonnie could go back home and see Danny. 

Once back, she went straight to Danny’s room and got in. She saw her son sleeping peacefully on his side, his eyes were so swollen and he looked a bit pale. She caressed his hair unintentionally waking him up. 

Danny flinched at the sudden touch. His eyes desperately looking for the person who touched him. It took him a little while to focus until he saw his mom and was able to relax. “Mom?”

His mom sat on the bed next to him. “How are you?”

He shook his head sitting up and embraced her in a hug.

Bonnie closed her eyes and softly caressed the back of her son’s head. “It’s okay. We are gonna be okay.”

“It was horrible mom. He was so angry.” Danny said crying.

Bonnie knew this was one of the possible outcomes of the decision Danny had made months ago of not telling Roy. But this was not the time to talk about that. They hugged for a while until Bonnie broke their embrace. “I'll make you breakfast and I'll bring it upstairs.” 

Danny only nodded.

Bonnie left the room and went downstairs to the kitchen. They needed to talk about what happened the night prior, but they had the rest of the day for that. For the time being, she just wanted to cheer up her son and comfort him. 

Once ready, she brought a tray to Danny’s room and placed it on his bedside table. “Okay, sit up so you can eat now.”  As she grabbed the glass of juice to hand it over to him, she noticed the look Danny had on his face was a bit off. 

Danny felt something weird between his legs.

“Mom, it hurts on my crotch.” Danny said placing a hand below the covers and then between his thighs. His hand was still there when Danny opened his eyes wide in response to what he was feeling down there. He felt his fingers get wet, with a somewhat thick and sticky substance. He quickly pulled his hand from below the sheets and saw his fingers covered in blood. 

Bonnie gasped and let go of the glass of juice she had been passing on to Danny which shattered loud on the floor.

Danny immediately pulled the sheets aside uncovering himself. Bonnie could see his son’s tan pajamas with a large blood stain right between his thighs getting all the way to the sheets on the bed. She covered her mouth with both hands and widened her eyes in fear.  Danny could only see the extent of the bleeding when he pulled himself backwards to sit all the way upright. 

He was so terrified, he started shaking.  “What’s happening?” Danny said gasping and crying. 

“It’s gonna be okay Danny calm down. Let’s get you to the emergency room right now.” Bonnie said trying to keep it together.

Danny looked lost and afraid. “Am I losing her mom?” He started sobbing.

Bonnie wished she could tell him that they were both going to be okay, but she wasn’t sure of that herself, so she tried to change the subject and get things done.  She raised his voice. “We are going to the emergency room now!”

Bonnie got Danny’s phone and called his doctor, she told her what happened and she told them to come in immediately, she was on her way to meet them.

Bonnie helped Danny stand, he could feel a gush of blood dripping through his legs which made him panic more. “I’m losing her! Mom! She’s not moving!” Danny said crying hysterically. 

Bonnie didn’t waste any time and pulled his stained pants off him and making them into a ball she cleaned the blood on Danny’s thighs. She took a new pair of pants from the nearest drawer and put them on him as fast as she could. She grabbed his arm and helped him get down the stairs. They were halfway on their way to the door when Danny stopped walking, grabbed his belly and leaned forward. 

“Oww… it hurts.” He moaned scrunching up his face.

“Where does it hurt?” 

“It starts in my back and goes all the way to here.” He said grabbing his lower abdomen.

“Oh shit!” Bonnie knew what those were, she had been through it several times. Those were contractions. She didn’t want Danny to be aware that they were contractions or he was going to panic even more. “Is it over?” 

“Yeah, I think so…” He said as he straightened up again and continued walking towards the door.

Bonnie looked at her watch. If there was another one coming, she needed to know the time between them. She helped Danny sit on next to the driver’s seat.

“I’ll go get some documents and money, I’ll be right back!” She said closing the door of the car and running back to the house.

Danny was so scared. He had never seen so much blood come out of him in his entire life. And to think of the possibilities this could entail, he was terrified for his baby. He just held his belly with both hands protectively as he silently sobbed. “We are going to be okay, just hang in there, please.” Danny begged, looking at his belly.

He felt a few soft kicks in response to his voice, which made him feel a little bit more calm. He was very focused on feeling even the slightest movement. Once again his baby gave little kicks for him making him cry. “Please don’t leave me alone.” He was sobbing again. He had already pictured his future holding his child. He didn’t know what he would do if he lost her. It was unimaginable, there was no future without her.

Bonnie came out running, got to the car and they were off to the hospital. Danny felt the stabbing pain again, about two times in the fifteen minute ride to the hospital. He asked his mom if those were contractions but his mom told him that she didn’t know and it would be better if the doctor examined him.

Once they got there, the doctor was already waiting for them with a nurse and a wheelchair. The nurse helped Danny get off the car and sit down on the wheelchair and he was wheeled inside the emergency room. Bonnie quickly got the car to the parking lot and ran towards the emergency room. Once inside they told her that Danny was being examined and that she should wait outside in the waiting area. She insisted she wanted to be with him, but since Danny was conscious, they said he was going to be okay with the doctor and as soon as there were news she would be informed right away. 

Bonnie was also very shaken, if she could have she would have smacked someone and would have made her way into Danny’s room all by herself, but she needed to remain calm. Right now, she was the only person there for Danny so she had to remain strong. Once in the waiting room, she sat down and placed her elbows on her knees and held her head in her hands. She felt her cheeks wet, she didn’t even know when she had started crying. But right now she was alone, so she let herself cry, scared for her son. She could break down only at that moment, because afterwards no matter the outcome, he was going to need her. 

Danny was asked many questions and was examined throughly. Throughout it, it felt like a dream. He was so confused and intimidated by his surroundings. Once he was done answering the doctor’s questions he felt as if his soul had left his body, even when he was in the much dreaded gynecologic position being examined down there. The only thing that brought him back was the pain he felt periodically. He could hear the people around him say things he didn't understand.

_The bleeding has stopped now._

_Cervix is closed._

_Membranes intact._

_He’s still contracting._

Once the examination was over, a nurse helped him into the wheelchair and was taken to a regular room, the doctor accompanied by his mom came in a few minutes later.

“Alright Danny, the bleeding you had, we think was due to a rupture of a membrane that had been covering your vaginal canal. Usually people with your condition have atrophied reproductive organs, but it seems the hormones you have been taking have helped in getting them well developed. There was just this membrane that had your vaginal canal covered let’s say. It’s very likely that it ruptured due to the fall you told me you had last night which resulted in the bleeding you woke up to. This happening was a matter of time. I’ve checked you and the bleeding has stopped now, it seems that it controlled itself before you got here.” 

Danny nodded as he paid full attention at the doctor.

“But— Is the baby okay?” Danny asked worried.

“That’s the second thing I wanted to inform you. There is an issue.”

Danny immediately got scared.

“The pain you are feeling every few minutes are contractions. Every time you are in pain, your belly gets hard doesn’t it?”

Danny pressed a hand on his belly and nodded.

“It seems that you are going into premature labor."

Danny was confused. He couldn't be in labor, he had months to go. This couldn't be happening.

The doctor continued. "What we are going to do about that is first check how much you are contracting, interval and intensity of the contractions. We are going to hook you up to a monitor that’s going to tell us exactly that. If we see that you are really contracting then we will give you medication and we are gonna try to stop them because you are only about 28 weeks so the more time the baby is in, the less time she will get to spend in the NICU.”

Danny had heard that term before but he was so shaken he didn’t remember what it meant. “What’s NICU?”

“Neonatal Intensive Care Unit”

Just the sound of it was very scary for Danny. “And what if you can’t stop it?”

“Then you are having a baby today.”

Danny was not expecting for the doctor to say that at all. He was beyond scared. He was not ready and he knew his daughter was not ready to come out either. 

“Right now, we are admitting you so we can administer the medication to stop labor and also to keep a close eye on you and see how you progress. Do you have any questions?”

Danny sight seemed lost, he only shook his head.

A nurse came in and put two elastic bands around his belly with a plastic round thing in the middle of them hooked to a machine right next to his bed. Immediately he started listening to the baby’s heartbeat. Then she placed an IV on him so he could start receiving fluids and medication. 

As soon as the nurse was done his mom went next to him.

“Danny, how are you?” 

“I don’t know mom.” Danny was so shaken and nervous. “I don’t have anything ready, she can’t come right now! She’s going to be too small!” Tears were shimmering in his eyes.

“Danny remember her chances of making it outside are on her side. Besides they are going to try to stop it and I’ve heard that most of the times they succeed in stopping labor.”

Danny suddenly scrunched up his face and extended his hand so her mom could grab it. He was in pain but it didn’t last long.

“You are going to be alright, just pull your shit together. We are going to deal with things as they happen okay? One thing at a time.”

Once the pain subsided, Danny took a deep breath and nodded.

She turned around to get her phone from her bag. “I’m gonna let your brothers know we are here.”

“Mom…” Danny stared at the baby’s heart monitor. 

Bonnie turned to face him and when he saw him she noticed that all of a sudden he had turned serious and had stopped crying.

“Maybe you should call Roy too. He knows the truth anyway so I guess he has a right to be here.” He seemed to be saying that absentmindedly.

“Are you sure Danny?”

Then he looked at her. “Yeah, I’m not afraid of him.” He stated solemnly. “He is not going to take my daughter away from me. If she is his and he wants a legal fight, that’s what he’s gonna get.”

Bonnie was not so convinced this was a good idea. “Alright, if you say so…” She shrugged her shoulders and left the room with her phone in her hands. Danny’s eyes just now were still in her mind, they were full of strength and determination. 

Even though she didn’t want to, she made the call.

-.-.-.-.-.-.- 

He was almost ready putting his socks on when his phone rang. He grabbed it and saw it was Danny’s mom. In a second he prepared himself to listen to all the horrible things he knew he was going to be told by the person who loved Danny the most in the world and took the call.

“Hello Bonnie.” He said serious.

“Hey, uhm— Danny told me about last night, you are aware of everything right?”

It took a second for Roy to answer. “Yes. Is he home? I need to talk to him.” 

“He’s not home. We’re at the hospital right now.”

Bonnie’s reply caught Roy completely off guard. “What? Is he okay?” He frowned shocked.

“This morning when he woke up there was a blood on his bed and he started having contractions.”

Roy gasped bringing a hand to his mouth and closed his eyes.

“I brought him to the emergency room and the doctor examined him. She says he is in premature labor.”

This hit Roy like a bucket of ice being dumped on him.

“They are trying to stop it so hopefully the baby can develop a bit more and improve her chances outside the womb. But if they can’t stop it then… he might have to deliver today.”

Roy couldn’t believe what he was being told. Tears started to fall as he covered his mouth with his hand. Bonnie could hear him over the phone.

“I’ll be there right now--” 

“Listen." Bonnie interrupted him. "I don’t know what got to you, but if you ever say something hurtful to my son again, you will be hearing from me.” Bonnie was dead serious when she told this to Roy.

“Bonnie I’m so sorry. I— I never meant—!.” His voice was breaking in between words.

“We’ll talk about it later, just get here quickly.” She hung up.

Roy felt completely numb. He felt like the worst human being in the world. If something happened to Danny’s baby because of what happened last night, he would never ever forgive himself. Danny had been taking care of himself so well, how could this happen? 

He was putting on his shoes when all of a sudden realization hit him. 

This child that might be born today, could be his child. 

_ His daughter.  _

An overwhelming sense of fear took over him. He felt nauseous and his hands started shaking. There was stabbing pain in his chest and he couldn’t breathe. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm definitely spoiling you guys. These past few lengthy chapters have been killing me but I hope you are enjoying them. We are at the essence of the story now and everyone's emotions are running high. You should expect chapters like this one for at least the next few weeks.  
> I think I'll update next chapter earlier because my sister is coming on wednesday and I want to get the chapter out before she gets here. I haven't seen her in 8 years and she hasn't been here in our home country for 11 years. You can imagine the massive 'catching up and going out' that's going to take place.  
> I won't leave you hanging guys don't worry! As always I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading and commenting!


	15. Let's Talk

Roy’s shaking hands were still somehow holding on to his phone.

He closed his eyes and started telling himself mentally to calm down. Every second felt like an eternity. He took a couple of deep breaths and opened his eyes back again. The first thing he saw were his dogs staring at him at the doorway. They approached him slowly as he kneeled down. They placed their front paws on his knees and raised their heads up to look at him. Roy grabbed them and hugged them, feeling their warmth and their tiny tongues licking his cheeks. He was so grateful to have them with him, specially in moments like this. They were his rock, they had been with him through everything. After a quick minute with them he was able to pull himself together and get the strength to stand up and make his way to the hospital. 

Bonnie saw him fast walking through the hallway.  She never thought she would ever see Roy so broken. There were dark bags under his eyes which were bloodshot red and swollen. His face and lips had also completely lost their color. She had never seen him so vulnerable. 

Roy saw Danny's family standing on the hallway. He saw Danny's older brother and his cousin standing next to his mom. He gave a quick look at them before setting his eyes on Bonnie. Roy could feel the resentment towards him just from the way they looked at him. At that point he didn't care, all he wanted to do was see Danny.

“Bonnie, where’s Danny?” He softly grabbed her arms. “Can I see him?” He pleaded to her. 

“He’s in there.” She said raising her eyebrows and looking towards a door a few feet from her. Bonnie had so many things she wanted to say to him but after looking at his condition, she didn’t have the heart to scold him right there.

“Just don’t upset him.” 

Roy nodded and headed towards the room Bonnie had pointed at. Once he got there, he knocked softly.

“Come in.” 

He heard Danny’s voice from inside. He took a deep breath and opened the door. He rapidly made his way in and closed the door behind him now facing Danny. 

Danny was in bed wearing a hospital gown which was pulled up revealing his belly. He had two elastic bands wrapped around it which helped monitor the baby. Roy could hear a fast beating sound coming from one of the machines which he assumed was the baby’s heartbeat. 

He could see Danny, he didn’t look good. He looked tired, his eyes were red and swollen. His skin slightly humid from sweat as well as his hair which was all back in a little ponytail. Some loose strands of his curly hair fell right above his shoulders. 

“Hi.” Danny said. His face looking serious and fatigued at the same time.

Roy couldn’t move. He was still standing by the closed door. He couldn’t manage to give a step forward.  He felt he was to blame for putting Danny in this situation. Not only Danny but an innocent child as well.

“Danny…” Roy’s face scrunched up and tears started streaming down his face.

Danny didn’t say anything, he was trying so hard to maintain his composure but on the inside he couldn’t help it, his heart was breaking to see Roy like that.

“I’m so sorry Danny.” He slowly approached the side of the bed.

Danny looked away trying to avoid his gaze or he would start crying as well. 

“I didn’t mean anything I said yesterday. Please, I’m so sorry.”

Danny was trying very hard to maintain his expression stern. Before they started talking about anything, he needed to make something very clear with him.  He placed his palm towards Roy to stop him from saying anything else. 

“Stop right there— You need to hear me out first— Shit!” Without warning Danny let out a soft gasp, closed his eyes and grabbed the rail of his bed with one hand while he placed his other hand on his lower belly as he leaned forward.

Roy got scared. He didn't know what was happening and took a step backwards towards the door. “I'm gonna go get someone!”

Danny shook his head, still facing down. 

“No” He whispered and took a deep breath. “It’s okay, it’s just a contraction. It’ll be over soon.” Danny let out a soft moan and breathed through it. Roy slowly approached the bed again, he didn’t know what to do or say. Honestly, he didn’t know what he was allowed to do considering how things were between them at the moment.

After a few seconds the contraction was over and Danny was able to sit back again as he recovered from it. He then stared at Roy maintaining his stern look. 

“Before you say anything else, you need to have something very clear. First and foremost— by no means, am I going to allow you to ever take my daughter away from me—”

Roy had never seen Danny this serious. “Danny no, I—” 

“Let me finish!” Danny raised his voice. There was an awkward pause between them. “Let me finish. You need to hear this or you can leave.” Danny’s green eyes were so wide Roy couldn’t say anything after that.

“Even if you are her father, she will stay with me no matter what. You are going to have to fucking kill me first if you ever think of taking her away from me. Don’t even dare to threaten me like that ever again. Did you fucking listen to me?” The killer glare Danny was giving him was one Roy had never seen before.

“I would never take her away from you Danny. Yesterday I was angry. I should have never said that. It was by far the most horrible thing I could have done to you.” 

There was no hesitation in Roy’s words. “Even if she is mine I won’t take her away from you. I regret ever saying that. I’m sorry.” 

Danny could tell Roy’s words were sincere, they always were. 

They stared at each other for a couple of seconds, both very expectant of each other’s reactions. Danny looked away and set his eyes on the baby’s heartbeat monitor letting out a sigh.

“Look, I don’t wanna talk about what happened yesterday.” Danny said annoyed. “Right now I just want this to be over with.” His face started to scrunch up slightly as he anxiously closed his hands into fists crumbling the sheets. “I want to go home and finish getting her stuff ready for when she is really supposed to come…” Danny couldn’t finish the sentence, his voice broke and his eyes welled up with tears again.

Roy immediately approached him and hugged him. At that moment he didn’t care about what Danny thought of him. He went straight towards him and held him and caressed his hair softly.

Danny let everything out at that moment. “They’ve already started with the medication to stop this and I’m still getting contractions.” He said between sobs. “She can’t come today! She’s not ready!” Danny hugged Roy back as he cried his heart out. 

“I’m so sorry Danny.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Danny let go of Roy and leaned back on the bed. “The doctor said that the bleeding was bound to happen anytime.” Danny grabbed a tissue and blew his nose. “She just can’t come today! She’s not big enough!” Danny was so irritated about the fact he couldn’t do anything about it.

“Let’s hope the medication works. The only thing we can do right now is wait.” Roy grabbed Danny’s hand and pressed it reassuringly.

Danny looked at him and without warning he felt again how his back tensed up from the sudden pain in his midsection. He closed his eyes and moaned, leaning his back on the bed and extending his neck backwards.  Roy felt his hand being pressed like never before. He endured the pain in support of Danny. 

Afterwards, they spent the next couple of hours together not saying much. Bonnie joined them sitting on the other side of the bed. 

The contractions continued for about an hour. Then they started becoming more apart until a couple of hours later they completely subsided.  The doctor then came, checked Danny and informed them that the medication had worked and that the baby was alright and would not be born that day. Everyone was so relieved to hear that. The doctor also informed them that Danny was going to be staying in the hospital for monitoring and observation. None of them would have it any other way since what just happened scared the three of them a lot. Danny's relatives who had taken turns to keep him company, once they knew Danny was alright, they figured it was the proper time to leave. 

Danny was then moved up to a room so he was more comfortable and had more space. Right after the contractions stopped about two hours ago, he was finally able to get some sleep. Bonnie and Roy watched him while he slept. It was already night time and none of them had had anything to eat for the entire day. Bonnie decided to go out and get food for the three of them while Roy watched Danny.

Roy was seating on a reclining chair next to the bed checking his phone when he saw Danny stirring on the bed and slowly opening his eyes.  

“Danny, how are you? Do you need anything?” He said very attentively. 

Danny rubbed his eyes yawning. “No, thanks. I’m just hungry.” 

“Your mom went to get food a while ago, she shouldn’t take long now.”

The younger man nodded. He then looked around the room for a little while and set his eyes on the window letting out a deep sigh as he stretched his arms upwards. “Then I guess… We have time to talk.” He looked back at Roy as he put his arms back down to his sides. 

Roy slightly widened his eyes, he was not expecting Danny to say that. “We don’t have to do that now if you don’t want to.”

Danny shook his head. “Nope. The crisis has been averted, this girl is not coming today or tomorrow so we need to get things straight right now.” He made a pause between the last two words, emphasizing each one of them. 

Roy put away his phone, placed his arms on the arm rests and crossed his legs confidently. 

“Alright.” He looked at Danny straight in the eyes with a slight frown and a serious glare. “How do you want to start?”

Danny wanted to tell him everything. He was tired of keeping secrets. He had had enough. 

“I’ll go first.”  He sighed thinking back to that day. 

“I’m going to be very honest with you. That night, I went out clubbing with some guys I hadn’t seen in years. I remember being with them and chilling with them. Then the last thing I clearly remember was that we were playing a drinking game from someone’s phone and I was doing really bad. Afterwards it’s all gaps from there. I think I started making out with people. Next thing I know I woke up in your bed the next morning. I was so shocked to see you and then when I realized I had had sex with you, I completely freaked out and pretty much ran away from there. I couldn’t face you. The next few days and weeks even, I avoided you because I was scared of how you would react and how everything between us would change. But then you kept trying to get in touch with me and you didn’t even mention anything about that night so I figured you didn’t remember anything about it.”

Roy interrupted him. “How much do you remember of that night?”

Danny shook his head. “I swear I don’t remember anything. Last thing I know I was drinking and then making out with somebody, that’s it. Then the next day I woke up and you’re next to me. I honestly have no memory of the night I got pregnant and that’s just horrible.”

Roy couldn’t help feeling some guilt about the entire situation. In the video he saw himself pulling Danny out of the bar and taking him to his room. They had both been completely drunk and unconscious. 

They were both to blame. 

“Since you didn’t remember anything, I didn’t want you to go through telling your boyfriend what you had done. If you didn’t remember then why would I make you? So in the end I just made the decision to not tell you and continue our friendship the way it was. That's when you came to visit me and that’s when shit got real. After I found out about the baby, it just changed everything. I didn’t know what to do. You were there! I would have never imagined this could happen to me. It was one of the hardest moments of my life.” Danny was very serious when he spoke about this. 

“I was okay with my life changing but if this kid wasn’t yours, and that still stands, I didn’t want you to worry for nothing and ruin your relationship with your boyfriend. That’s why I decided I would tell you when I was one hundred percent sure this baby was yours. Then I would have told you everything that happened even if you didn’t remember because it is your right and I would have had proof that she’s yours. After that I thought you could make a decision if you wanted to be in her life or not. That was my plan. I’m sorry you had to find out this way.” 

Roy didn’t say anything at first. He just shook his head slightly, looked at him and took a big breath to voice his reply.

“Danny I think one of the things I’m most upset about is that you didn’t come to me to tell me what happened right after.”

Danny interrupted him. “Would you have believed me? If I told you?”

“I’ve heard your side, just let me finish, please.” Roy said very calmly as he closed his eyes and deepened his frown. “You knew there was a possibility she was mine and taking that into consideration I had the right to know about her. It is upsetting that we did what we did while completely wasted. It was completely irresponsible. But right now I don’t know if that’s what upsets me the most or your lack of honesty towards me. You could have just told me Danny. We’ve know each other for so many years now. You knew at one point or another this conversation was bound to take place.” Roy looked very serious and annoyed.

Danny knew it had been wrong on his part to not tell Roy the truth before. 

“I’m very sorry for not telling you. I was afraid and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

Roy only stared at him silently for a few seconds. 

“Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel right now. I have so many mixed feelings, I don’t know what bothers me the most.” Roy’s expression changed, he look concerned now. “Even though I think you were wrong and you should have told me the truth straight away, I don’t think I’m mad at you as much as I am mad at myself for cheating on my boyfriend. Fuck!” He hit the arm rest with his fist.

Danny didn’t know how to reply to this. He could tell Roy was very anguished about the whole issue.

There was a moment of silence between the two.

“You really don’t remember anything?” Danny asked him.

“I'm not sure. A couple of nights I saw like visions, remember when I measured you? For your dress?”

Danny’s eyes opened wide. “Oh that time… I was going to tell you then because I think it kinda came to you. But then the topic just shifted and I lost the chance and courage to do it. You didn’t tell me what happened yesterday." Danny placed his hands on the top of his belly. "I had never seen you like that, what happened?”

“The other night I had dream, it was about you and I. We were having sex. Since this was the second time something like this happened to me, that night I was actually on my way to your place to talk to you about it when a friend called me. He was drunk and needed help so I went to get him. We went to a dinner and then he asked me about how it went that night back in April. I had no idea what he was referring to so he told me I took somebody home with me. I didn’t believe him but afterwards he showed me a video."

Danny gasped and widened his eyes horrified.  "There's a video?" He then covered his mouth with both hands.

Roy nodded. "Yes. I saw us making out in a bar that night and then leaving together. What you were wearing matched the things I kept seeing. It's clearly us there, that’s how I saw how it all went down. If you want to see…”

Danny raised a hand stopping him from continuing talking. “I don’t want to hear about that or even see that shit.”

“I have it if you ever want to see it at some point but it definitely confirms that we were in that bar and we left together. Also all those visions, those memories. I guess I sort of remember us that night, it’s not clear but it’s something.” He placed a finger on his temple.

“At least you remember something… I was so drunk, all I know is I woke up in your bed the next morning with cum dripping down my ass so… it definitely happened.”

Roy let out a deep sigh. 

“Now, where do you wanna go from here?”

Danny looked at him. “I just want you to know that if she's yours, I’m not expecting anything from you whatsoever. I’m very capable of raising her by myself, she's gonna grow up in a loving family, with me, my mom, I don’t think I turned out that bad so… she’s gonna have everything, she’s gonna be alright.” 

“Look”, Roy cleared his throat and sat straight. “If this baby is mine, I do want to be involved in her life. I honestly never thought I would become a dad but if it happens, then I’ll definitely welcome her and you into my life. We’ve known each other for years now and I love you. Maybe not in the romantic way, but I do want to be there for her and for you as well. I’d love to be around and watch her grow into whatever she wants to be.”

Danny stared at him and listened to him attentively but he wanted confirmation. “So, if she’s yours…”

“We’ll co-parent, you know that would mean I’d be in your life for good now right?” Roy let out a little smile trying to change the mood.

Danny nodded. “You were always going to be there but I guess we are getting closer now and I’m good with that.” He smiled back to Roy.

“Just promise me from now on, there will be no secrets between us, please. That’s all I want.”

“I promise, I’m sorry. No secrets ever again.”

“Okay. So as for the baby…” Roy cleared his throat but Danny interrupted him.

“Let’s just go day by day. Okay?” They had already talked about it enough for the evening.

“Alright, yeah I think we did good for today…” 

Danny let out a relieved sigh. “Oh my God, I really felt horrible to keep this from you. I feel so relieved right now.” He felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders. 

Roy let out a soft smile. He could definitely see Danny a lot more relaxed now and that made him happy considering all the things he had to go through. Danny was already changing his life for his daughter, and if this child was his, then he was definitely going to need to do the same and he needed to start somewhere. Even if the baby wasn’t his, there was something he had to do first and foremost. He dreaded it, but he had to do it. 

He had to tell Mike the truth. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this chapter is so late! Please don't kill mee!  
> Once my sister got here I completely lost track of time. I'm so happy guys! We've been visiting relatives she hasn't seen in like 11 years. It has been so much fun!  
> There were so many things to consider for this chapter that it took me a while to get done properly. This arc of upsetting chapters is coming to an end soon. Next chapter might be one of the last ones that has this kind of drama, it's going to be a really sad one for our dear Roy.  
> As always, thanks for reading and commenting! I love your feedback and I read and reply to all of it.  
> Thank you! <3


	16. Naturally

Danny’s mom brought food and they had dinner together. 

The three of them were so relieved that the doctor had been able to stop Danny from going into labor. Even though they would have been very excited for the baby's arrival, none of them were actually ready for it. 

Later that evening, Danny was taken to get an MRI done. He had an appointment to get it done later that week but since he was hospitalized already, his doctor decided it was a good time to get it done. Bonnie and Roy were standing behind a glass window next to the doctor who was pressing buttons and also telling Danny through a microphone to remain very still. Roy felt somewhat overwhelmed as he got a sense of how serious Danny’s medical condition actually was. Danny seemed so small compared to the machine. He saw him very still with his eyes open as the surface he was laying on moved towards a big machine making a very loud train like sound.

Danny had never gone through a procedure like this before. As soon as he was told to remain very still he knew it would be one of those experiences he was not going to like. It was so hard for him to be still even for a second. He felt himself entering the machine as the sound got louder and louder. He hated it. He closed his eyes and tried to think about something else. 

The first thing that immediately came to his mind was Roy. He had finally been able to tell him the truth. 

For so long he had been so afraid of how would he react to all of this and now it had finally happened. He was at peace with himself and he loved the feeling of relief it brought him. He also couldn’t help wondering what would be next for Roy and him and how would things change afterwards. From what they had talked about, Roy wanted to be involved if the baby turned out to be his. That fact made Danny happy and without realizing it he found himself smiling. 

All of a sudden, the image of Mike also came to his mind and his smile quickly faded. Danny knew how precious Mike was to Roy. There was not a day that Danny spent with Roy in which he didn’t mention Mike. This was also what made it harder for Danny to tell Roy the truth. He didn’t know how Roy was going to handle the situation taking Mike into consideration. He only had this terrible feeling that things were going to get ugly and his dear Roy was going to get hurt. The thought of it made Danny sad. 

Then the possibility of his daughter not being Roy’s came to his mind. Danny’s face seemed to turn blank. He knew he was going to be able to raise his little girl on his own but deep down he wished he could have someone he could do that with. He didn't want just anyone, he wished for someone special who could love his daughter as much as he loved her. 

Danny found himself admitting and wishing that Roy was his daughter’s father. If she was his, he was one hundred percent sure he would love her as much as he already did.

He knew it wasn’t right and that he shouldn’t take that position because if he wasn’t her father, he would be setting himself up for disappointment. He couldn’t afford disappointment. When his daughter arrived, she needed him strong in every single way. But deep down, he couldn’t help feeling this way. 

If Roy wasn’t his daughter’s father then there wouldn’t be anyone else. 

He was not willing to let the guy at the club anywhere near his daughter and he still had no idea who was the other guy he had slept with that could also be the father. He felt selfish for only thinking about himself, specially now that Roy was going through the same thing that Danny went through when he found out he was pregnant. Roy had already said that if the baby was his then he would raise her with Danny. But Danny knew very well all the feelings that were involved in making such a decision. The confusion, the responsibility and just the fact of knowing that life was going to change forever. The uncertainty of it all and at the same time the voice of faith resonating deep inside one’s head trying to say that everything is going to be alright. 

Danny had already gone through all of this a long time ago but for Roy, he had found out about everything less than twenty-four hours ago, it was still so fresh for him. Danny knew Roy was a strong person but even so, news of this caliber were still something tough to face. He could only hope Roy would handle everything as gracefully as he did with other aspects of his life.

Without realizing it, almost twenty minutes had passed and the exam was over. 

“You are done Danny. We are going to get you out now, alright?”  Danny heard the speaker of the machine and nodded as he felt himself being slowly pulled out of the MRI scanner. They let Roy inside so he could help the nurse get Danny back on the wheelchair and to his room. 

About half an hour later, Danny’s doctor came to see him. 

“Daniel? How are you doing?” She said as she came in.

“Hi!” Danny smiled to her. He was genuinely so happy to see her. She was his doctor, the one he saw in every check up, the one that had stopped him from going into labor and he loved her for that. Seeing her made him feel safe and secure. 

“Do you feel any pain?” She asked as she went towards the right side of his bed and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Danny shook his head. “No, it doesn’t hurt anymore. Thank you so much, I was so scared.” Danny said very grateful placing his hand on top of the doctor’s. 

“No problem. I’m glad the medication worked.” She said smiling back. She then took her hand off Danny’s shoulder and placed it on the bed rail. “I have the results of your MRI.”

Danny raised his eyebrows in surprise and then looked at her somewhat nervous but expectantly. Bonnie and Roy whowere there as well also turned to see the doctor and paid their full attention to her. 

“The radiology team and I have looked carefully at your MRI and there are a couple of things we need to inform you.”

Danny didn’t say anything, he only nodded.

“First of all I just want to say the baby is fine. She’s doing amazing, everything is the way it is supposed to look for a 28 week pregnancy. Her size is good, her weight is also within range for her gestational age. She’s doing great.”

Danny let out a deep breath, he was so relieved to hear this. He then looked at Bonnie and Roy who by their expressions Danny could tell were also relieved to hear that.

“I have to say though, there were things we were able to learn about your anatomy through the MRI which will affect the way you deliver the baby.”

Danny's smile faded and he immediately became nervous.

“It seems you have responded incredibly well to the hormone treatment. In the beginning of the pregnancy we saw through the ultrasound that your uterine wall was thinner than in most women. Today we have seen that it has thickened even though it is stretching due to the baby’s growth. The placenta looks like it implanted very well to the uterine wall and this is good because this helps the baby get the nutrition she needs and it also protects her.”

“That’s so good.” Danny nodded understanding the doctor. 

“It is! Also there has been a change in your cervix and your vaginal canal. I have seen and felt this during the physical exam and it is also shown in the MRI. Both structures have developed considerably comparing to what they were before hormones. We can say your female organs are pretty much the same of that of an adult female.”

Bonnie widened her eyes very impressed that the treatment that was given to his son was actually helping him to maintain the pregnancy, that it was really working. Danny had been so diligent with the treatment, she was happy it had paid off. 

“The MRI also confirmed the suspicions we talked about earlier. The bleeding you had was due to your vagina becoming permeable.”

Danny widened his eyes like enormous plates. “Oh God. I have a vagina now?” His eyes remained wide as he looked at his mom and then at Roy who were also impressed by Danny's new development. 

“Yes. The blood discharge you had during the night was your vagina becoming permeable. The fact that you started having contractions, we could say it was a coincidence, but I believe that since it started after the bleeding, your body was telling us that it is capable of going into labor. Let's just say it didn’t get the timing right.”

“So you mean to say that my body was maturing well and all, but it got too excited and it almost made me go into labor?”

“Exactly. Thankfully we were able to stop it so we don’t have to worry about that for the time being. As of now we are going to do everything possible to at least get you to reach 37 weeks. You will follow a specific diet and also physical activity will be kept to a minimum. Even though your organs have matured, they have done it in a very short time. In addition, the baby is constantly growing and moving, that’s already a lot of stress on your organism so we want you to be resting as much as possible to reduce any strain on it.”

Danny nodded and looked at his mom giving her a mischievous smile. His mom looked back at him and rolled his eyes grinning. 

The doctor noticed this and looked at Bonnie. “Mom, now is the perfect time to spoil him.” 

“He’s already so spoiled.” Bonnie said smiling.

“He definitely needs all the rest he can get. Labor can take hours and sometimes days.”

Roy who had been paying attention frowned a bit confused. “I thought you said he was going to have a C-section.”

The doctor gave him a half smile. “Well, there has been a change in plans regarding that issue. Since your female organs have developed really well, I have checked you and my conclusion is you are very capable of delivering your baby vaginally.”

Danny’s jaw dropped and his eyes widened, he became completely immobile. After a few seconds he quickly shook his head as if trying to wake himself up. “What?!”

“The shape of your pelvis is good, your birth canal is adequate and the contractions you just had today tell me the conditions are favorable for you to deliver naturally.” The doctor said this as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. 

To Danny this was bad, really bad news. He had already his mind set that he was going to meet his baby through a c-section. He was glad he was having one because he had seen in videos people give birth vaginally and he was absolutely terrified by them. He had been so relieved that a vaginal birth was not an option for him that now listening to the doctor telling him otherwise, he felt scared. His mouth was still wide open in disbelief. 

Danny took a few seconds to let the doctor’s words sink in. “You really think I can deliver her-- naturally?” He said stuttering.

“Yes, I do. Recovery time is only a couple of days compared to the c-section which sometimes takes weeks for patients to get back to normal. I’ve had moms who have had c-sections after having their first babies through vaginal births and they have expressed they really liked their experience delivering naturally because after the surgery they had trouble tending to their babies since they had to be careful with their movements and with the stitches.”

Bonnie and Roy were also taken aback by the doctor’s words.

“Like I said, your body’s condition is favorable for a vaginal birth so I strongly recommend for your to deliver naturally."

Danny just stared at the doctor as if waiting for her to say she was joking or something of the sort. 

“Oh God.” Danny grabbed his face with both hands still in disbelief. “I don't know. I’m scared!” He said looking at Roy and then at his mom.

“You can try to deliver her naturally and if that doesn’t work there is always the c-section route. Our priority is always you and your baby’s safety.” 

Danny's face turned blank for a minute, but then he came to his senses and nodded. “Alright. Whatever it takes to get her here safely.”

“Also we have found some scar tissue between the posterior wall of your uterine wall and your colon. This leads us to think that you did have a small fistula or connection between these two structures before. We believe this is what enabled you to get pregnant.”

Danny wasn't expecting to get this piece of information. 

“I have to say it was a surprise for everyone in the team looking at your MRI. A connection between these two structures always leads to severe infections and sometimes even death. Our hypothesis is that you got pregnant as soon as this fistula formed between your uterus and your colon and after the baby was conceived it closed right away. There was no time for it to get larger and let it get infected.”

“Is there a chance that it might get infected during the pregnancy or after?” Bonnie interrupted the doctor concerned.

“As far as we can see in the MRI, the fistula seems to be closed since we can see scar tissue surrounding it. But with the baby’s growth your uterus will still keep growing as well so we can’t guarantee you that it won’t open again at some point.” 

Bonnie looked at Danny worried.

“But right now it looks good right?” She asked.

“Yes, he’s alright. As long as the fistula remains closed, he will be fine.” 

“How do we know if it opens up again?” Roy wanted to know just in case.

“He might have a fever, abdominal pain and in his current condition it’s likely he will get contractions. As soon as he experiences any of these you need to bring him immediately.” The doctor said looking at Roy. “That is all for the time being. Do you have any questions?” The doctor once again placed a hand on Danny’s shoulder. 

“No, thank you.” Danny said smiling.

“Alrighty. I have more patients I need to see, if you’ll excuse me—”

Bonnie and Roy also thanked her and then she left the room. The three of them looked at each other with wide eyes. 

“Oh God…” Danny said rolling his eyes and then covering them with both hands.

“Boy that was a shocker!” Bonnie said smiling and shaking her head. “You are in for the most painful experience of your life.” She raised her eyebrows and nodded as she bit her lower lip.

“God. I can’t believe it! It still hasn’t sunk in yet!” Danny said smiling. 

“At least be happy you won’t have to push her out your ass.” Roy raised his eyebrows and gave them a half smile.

Danny and Bonnie burst out in laughter.

More hours passed and it was almost midnight. Danny had fallen asleep while watching TV and Bonnie and Roy were sitting on a sofa right next to each other. 

“You must be exhausted Bonnie. Why don’t you go home and rest? I can stay with him.” 

Bonnie sighed. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll stay with him. You should be the one to go home. Don’t you have a plane to catch early in the morning?”

“Yes, but that’s still at 8. I can watch him tonight.”

Bonnie looked at the man next to him. He looked emotionally and physically drained. His eyes had huge bags under them and he looked like he hadn't slept in days.

“I don’t care whatever you say. I’m not letting you stay the night here.” Bonnie said very serious.  Roy was taken aback by her tone but he had seen her talk this way to Danny whenever she scolded him.  “Tomorrow is gonna be a rough day for you. You need to rest so you can get your thoughts sorted out. I’ll take care of him besides he’s out for the night.”

Roy then looked away from her, he knew Bonnie was right. He stayed on his spot sitting silently. 

“Just go Roy. He’s gonna be okay.” Bonnie said patting his back.

Roy looked at Danny and nodded. “Alright, Bonnie.” He then looked at her. “I’ll— I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon.” 

Bonnie could feel the fear in Roy just by staring into his eyes. He kept looking around the room as if looking for help. She placed her hand on top of Roy’s hand which made him look at her. She then opened her arms as she approached to hug him. Once in her embrace, she felt his rapid breathing and his muscles all tensed up. 

"Good luck.” Bonnie whispered in his ear.

“Thanks Bonnie.” Roy’s voice was trembling. “I’m sorry again, for everything.”

“You’re already part of the family.” She said breaking the hug.

“Thanks.” Roy nodded and gave a last look at her before he stood up and left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GAH! I'm so so sorry for the late update! I'm the worst!  
> I've been so distracted with my sister here. I hope you can forgive me for the delays. But guess what? I took my sister to her first drag show ever on saturday and she's hooked! She even mentioned it completely exceeded her expectations. We also went with my cousin who just turned 21 and is a huge fan of drag race. It was her first time going to a club and seeing drag queens live and she had a blast! We came back home around 5 am, feet destroyed but absolutely happy. We are going to another drag show next week. ^^  
> In regards to this chapter, my original intention was to include Roy telling Mike about everything like I mentioned to some of you. I guess I got too excited with the medical aspect of the story that what was supposed to be like a paragraph of medical explanation ended up as almost three pages full of it.  
> But next chapter guys, get ready because that one will hurt for sure.  
> As always thank you so much for being so patient, for reading and commenting!


	17. Don't Let Go of Me

After leaving the hospital Roy headed straight home.

He felt as if his body was moving on its own, completely soulless. When he got home, his dogs ran towards him and started jumping on their back legs impatiently waiting for a pat on the head. Their barks got Roy out of his trance and he kneeled down and hugged them. He felt their tiny nose and their tongues kiss his cheeks. They made him feel safe and loved. 

Later he went to take a hot shower and changed into his pajamas. He headed to the kitchen, opened the fridge and took out a bottle of wine. Then he went towards a cabinet and pulled out a wine glass. With his hands full he went to the living room, sat on the couch leaning mostly on the arm rest and pulled his feet up. He was joined by his dogs, one of them laid next to his legs and the other one right by his chest. He poured himself a full glass of wine and then put the bottle down on the floor.  He took a sip of his glass with one hand as he caressed his dog’s furry head with the other. 

Once again his stare and his mind went completely blank. He could only feel the burning sensation of the wine going through his esophagus and the slightly sweet flavor it left on his palate.

He grabbed his phone and checked his social media trying to get his mind off everything but it didn’t take long for him to let the phone slip through his fingers onto the floor and with large gulps completely finish his glass of wine. He didn’t know at what time the tears had started falling but he felt their salty taste when he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He felt an immense urge to throw the glass towards the wall but he knew if he did that, the shattered glass would hurt his dog’s paws and he couldn’t do that to them. 

He felt frustrated. It only made his tears come faster and feel an immense sense of fear for what he had to do the following day. 

He started sobbing uncontrollably as he covered his eyes with his free hand. He couldn’t help it. As much as he wiped his tears it didn’t matter, they just kept coming endlessly. 

He sobbed until no more tears came out. 

He poured himself a last glass of wine and chugged it down. Then he stood up and headed to his bedroom followed by his dogs. He pulled off the covers and got to bed. His eyes were so red and swollen that they hurt. He laid sideways trying to get comfortable but it was impossible. He had so much anxiety he couldn’t close his eyes. He only laid in bed immobile. He dozed on and off through the night but he was mostly awake. When he woke up completely it was still dark. He had reached a point he couldn’t take it anymore and decided he needed to stand up and get out of bed. He was able to only get a couple of hours of sleep at the most. He didn’t know exactly how much time had passed, it felt as if he only had slept for a couple of minutes. 

He grabbed a small bag and packed his essentials. He took his ID, his driver’s license, cards, keys, some cash and his phone. 

He got to the airport almost two hours before his plane took off. He was not hungry or thirsty but still he knew he had to eat or at least drink something. He went to a cafe near the gates and got the only thing he thought he could benefit from, a cup of dark coffee. He sat in front of those large screens in which the departure times and gates for each flight were announced and stared at it absentmindedly. Every minute that passed seemed like an eternity. 

Once his flight’s gate was announced he moved to a seat closer to the gate. About an hour later the crew was calling everyone on board. The speed the passengers moved forward in the queue, it all seemed to happen in slow motion. He knew once he got on that plane everything would be different. 

He knew Mike. He knew he wouldn’t forgive an infidelity.

He sat on his seat and then when it was taking off, anxiety completely got to him and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. He closed his eyes and tried to calm down taking slow deep breaths. He opened his eyes to the movements the plane made as it landed. He didn’t know the moment he had fallen sleep but he was glad he had been able to get some rest during the flight. He felt slightly energized now. 

He was back to the place he once called home, New York City.

It was tuesday so he knew Mike was going to be home after he was done with work that day. He spent the day walking through the crowded streets of New York thinking about his life and his situation until late afternoon. Mike usually got out of work at five and was home around five thirty. It was already almost six so he headed straight to Mike’s apartment. He didn’t even call or text to say he was coming. He just showed up at his doorstep and with a shaky hand ringed he doorbell.

He had never been more nervous and afraid in his entire life.

Mike had just arrived home a couple of minutes ago and now he was getting ready to eat dinner when he heard the doorbell. It was so odd for someone to ring it since anyone who came would usually call or text beforehand. He put his robe on and headed towards the door. When he saw through the door’s eye he couldn’t believe who it was. He was so excited he opened the door as quickly as he could. 

“Roy! Oh my god! I can’t believe you’re here love!” He threw himself towards Roy laughing and embracing him. When he let Roy free, Mike cupped his face with both hands happily. He expected Roy to be as excited as he was but when he took a good look at him, he could see Roy’s eyes were swollen and red, his skin was pale and he looked shaken.

“Roy? Honey? Are you okay?” Mike said as he caressed Roy’s cheeks.

Roy shook his head and then opened his mouth but the words wouldn’t come out. Mike realized there was something very wrong with him, Roy would never be at a loss for words. Mike didn't say anything, he immediately embraced him again and this time tighter. Roy reciprocated the hug and shut his eyes tight also pressing his arms on his lovers body, scared for what was to come.

Mike broke the hug, grabbed Roy’s arm and pulled him inside his apartment. “What’s wrong baby? Come on in.”

Mike took Roy to the living room and made him sit down on the couch. 

“I’ll get you something to drink just—“

Mike had turned his back on Roy to head towards the kitchen when he felt Roy’s hand suddenly grabbing his own stopping him in his steps from going anywhere. Mike turned his head to look at his lover. He was so confused. He had never seen Roy act like this. 

Roy was pressing Mike’s hand very tightly. “I have something very important to tell you, and you’re not going to like it.” 

Mike widened his eyes towards him as he saw his lovers red and swollen eyes. He went and sat next to him, never letting go of his hand. “You’re scaring me. What’s going on?” He said very worried.

Roy knew it was time. He had to tell him everything. 

“Remember that morning, you came to see me back in April? When I did the last show for my tour. You brought me breakfast that morning.”

Mike put his fingers on his chin and looked at the ceiling trying to remember. “Yeah, you were the most hungover I had ever seen you, you threw up the whole breakfast I brought for you.” Mike let out a small laugh as he remembered what had happened that day and also trying to make Roy feel more at ease.

“Mike I spent that night with someone.” Roy said very straightforwardly looking at him deep into his eyes. 

Mike pulled his head backwards disconcerted closing and opening his eyes several times. “What?” He didn’t get him. “What do you mean?”

Roy could see he was not coming off the way he intended to. “I spent that night with Danny.” 

“Danny? As Adore Danny? He brought you home?”

It still wasn’t sinking in for Mike and Roy was getting very frustrated. There was no way to sugarcoat anything. He hated the entire situation. He hated everything. He was tired. 

He had had it.

“I had sex with Danny!” Roy yelled at Mike giving a defying but also fearful look. 

Mike froze. 

His eyes slowly turned wide in shock, his jaw also dropped and after some seconds that felt like an eternity he looked away. He shook his head as he tried to pull his hand away from Roy’s grasp but he didn’t let him. “This is not funny.”

“You know I wouldn’t lie to you with something like this.” Roy said pressing Mike’s hand tighter. 

“But you— you—?” Mike looked confused at Roy who was slowly scrunching up his face as his eyes were filling up with tears.  Mike didn’t know to else to say. This had to be a terrible joke. “Why are you saying this things?” Innerly Mike didn’t want to accept what he had just heard but on the outside his eyes slowly started filling up with tears.

“The baby Danny’s expecting, there’s a chance she’s mine.” Roy said maintaining his serious expression.

Mike gasped and covered his mouth. Roy’s words hit him as if a bucket of ice was thrown on him. Mike felt his heart starting to race and his breathing getting deeper. Roy felt Mike’s hands getting colder by the second to which he grabbed them tighter. Mike felt the pressure on his hand, looked at it and then looked back at Roy who now had tears streaming down his face. He pulled his hand away from Roy but Roy wouldn’t let go. He tried pulling harder but he still wouldn’t let go. 

“Let me go!” Mike quickly stood up as in one harsh motion he pulled his hand away from Roy’s grasp. 

Roy stood up to go after him.

“Stay where you are!” Mike said stopping in his steps still not facing him.

Roy obeyed him, he didn’t know what else to say or do. He could listen to his lover’s distressed breathing how it became faster and faster as he turned around to face him. Mike’s face had turned red and there were tears accumulated in his eyes. The sight broke Roy’s heart. 

“You cheated on me.” Mike whispered letting out a sob. “How could you do this?!” Mike yelled at him with all his strength. “How could you?!”

Roy tried to approach him, he wanted to hug him and tell him that he loved him, that it had all been a mistake but Mike raised a hand towards him. “Don’t you dare come close to me! No! No! No! Stay where you are!”

“Baby please let me explain!” Roy tried to give a step forward.

“Fuck no! Don’t you even dare come close to me!” He screamed at him. “You are the biggest piece of shit in this world. How could you do this to me?” Now Mike was screaming and sobbing hysterically.

Roy covered his mouth with both hands, he had never seen Mike this altered ever. He found himself sobbing as well.

“For years I have always been faithful to you! I cared about you and I thought you felt the same way about me! But I was wrong! Oh! I was so wrong!” Mike’s feelings were skin deep.

Every word was like a stab right through Roy’s heart, but he knew he deserved each and every one of them. “I’m sorry baby— I—” 

“Don’t call me that!” Mike said shaking his head and letting out a laugh between sobs. 

“Mike I’m sorry. That night was a mistake, please I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry!” Roy wanted to make things right again, he wanted to tell him that he loved him so bad but he knew it would just make things worse.

“You’re sorry?” Mike laughed, shook his head and rolled his eyes. “You’re full of shit, that’s what you are.”

“Mike please! I’ll do anything to prove to you that I’m still the man that loves you!”

“You mean the same man that cheated on me?” Mike was furious. “Two years. Two years of my life I’ve wasted on you!”

“Mike please forgive me.” Roy kept trying to get closer but every time he did, Mike stretched his hands between them and gave a step away from him.

Mike shook his head. “I can’t believe it! I’m here working my ass off, and texting you and calling you like an asshole every single day while you are in California sleeping with your ‘bestie’ huh?”

“It was a one time thing! I was drunk! I swear!”

“That doesn’t matter anymore Roy! You slept with him while in a relationship with me and now you might have a baby on the way! This is fucking ridiculous!” Mike was hysterical.

“Mike please, I’m sorry. I know what I did was wrong. I don’t have feelings for Danny like I do for you. You are the love of my life! I’ll do anything for you!” Roy said between sobs.

“Then leave Danny and move back here with me.” 

Roy was taken aback. He didn’t expect Mike to ever say such a thing. Mike looked at Roy defiantly. They stared at each other with red and glassy eyes, mere seconds feeling like an eternity.

“I— I—“ Roy stuttered.

Mike smiled maliciously. “You said you would do anything for me, didn’t you? This is what I want! I want you to forget Danny ever existed, forget that child and come to me!”

Roy’s eyes were wide open, he couldn’t believe his ears. Mike wasn’t that kind of person.  Roy wiped his tears, shook his head and deepened his frown. “Mike you know I can’t do that.” 

“Then you and your new family can go to hell Roy. I thought you were a different type of person! That you would never do such a thing! I don’t know how can I trust you again.” Mike said completely furious.

“I know I deserve everything you are telling me!” Roy couldn’t help raising his voice towards him. “I made a mistake that night and now I have to face the consequences. If that child is mine, I’m taking care of her and Danny will be in my life forever- whether you want it or not!” Roy had already made a decision, and he was determined to carry it out to the end.

Mike looked at him filled with resentment and screamed. “Then fuck you! You can get out of my place, my life and my everything!” 

Roy looked at him sorrowful and remorseful. “I’m sorry, Mike. I truly am.” His voice was shaky.  Roy had never felt so guilty in his life. 

“It’s over. I don’t want to see you ever again.” 

“Baby I—“ Roy tried to approach Mike for a last time. 

Mike made his hands into fists and screamed at the top of his lungs. “Fuck you! Get out! Get out!!”

Roy covered his mouth and stared at a raged Mike for the last time sobbing. He closed his eyes, turned around and without looking back he got out of Mike’s apartment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the last one of about a month of very depressing and heavy chapters. The main characters are all aware of everything important and now it's going to be more about acceptance and how to deal with everything that's heading their way. The tone for the next few chapters will be more enjoyable. We are done with depressing things, at least for the time being.  
> Once again sorry for the delays, I went +5k meters above sea level for a hike with my sister and now I'm sick x_x. Not even from the altitude but because it was too cold and I didn't bring a jacket on the first day of the hike. These past few days have been horrible.  
> As always thank you so much for reading! Looking forward to your comments and critiques! <3


	18. Sorrow & Guilt

It was very early in the morning. Roy knocked at Danny’s hospital room and let himself in. 

At first, Bonnie was a bit startled by the knocks on the door since she was half asleep and just a few minutes ago a nurse had already come to check Danny’s vitals. She wasn’t expecting visitors for Danny.

Roy quietly opened the door and peeked through. He saw Danny's mom rubbing her eyes attempting to get herself awake. 

“Hey, Roy. Good morning.” She mumbled as she got into a more comfortable sitting position. 

“Good morning Bonnie.” Roy replied as he made his way towards her.

Bonnie immediately noticed Roy’s voice was dull. It didn’t have that energy and vitality that always characterized it. As he approached her, she saw his eyes even redder and more swollen than what they had been just the day before yesterday. That’s when she suddenly remembered what Roy’s plan had been before he left. 

Roy sat on the couch right next to her. He tried to smile for her but his true feelings made it incredibly hard to do so. He only made eye contact for a quick second with her and then looked back down at his lap expressionless. 

Bonnie could sense things hadn’t gone well. She had never ever seen him this defeated. Even though his reaction towards her son the day he found out everything hadn’t been the best, s he felt bad for him. She knew the position Roy was now in. He had just found out he had cheated on his boyfriend and now there was a chance he was about to become a dad. What made her feel the worst was that she had known all along. She knew he had a right to know but she couldn’t get between Danny and him in those matters and just tell him everything without Danny’s consent. 

Danny was the only one who had to tell him everything. 

She didn’t think that it was a good time for her to apologize but she knew she had to talk to him at some point. The more she looked at the man the more concerned she got about him.

“How are you? How did it go?” She asked him sympathetically.

Roy looked at her as if pleading for help and shook his head without saying a word. 

Her mother’s instinct overtook her and she immediately grabbed him into a hug. She could feel how his chest trembled a couple of times as he tried to hold in his sobs. She patted his back gently up and down.

“I’m sorry Roy. Danny never meant for everything to go this way. He made a stupid decision but he does care about you.”

Roy didn’t say anything, he didn’t have the strength to. 

Bonnie ended the hug and pressed her hand reassuringly on his arm as she let him go. She then stood up and approached Danny’s bed. He was sleeping on his side facing the wall opposite of them. She touched his shoulder and gently shook it to wake him. After a few seconds Danny was startled by the touch and looked over his shoulder trying to see the person moving him. 

“Mom?” He mumbled as he slowly turned to lie on his back. 

“Good morning. Rise and shine.” Her tone was tranquil. She pressed some buttons on the rails of the bed so that Danny was now sitting up. “Roy just got here.” She said turning her face to look at Roy. “I’m gonna go home and take a shower. I’ll be back in about an hour, alright?” 

The mention of Roy's name got Danny's attention, he nodded rubbing his eyes. 

Bonnie gave her son a kiss on the forehead, hugged Roy bye and left the hospital room.

After Danny finished stretching he was fully awake. It was then when he realized Roy had been staring at him. 

“Hey.” Danny was still unsure how to talk to Roy after everything that happened. He gave a good look at the man sitting on the couch. He didn’t look well. He looked drained. Even after he did many shows in a row, he had never seen him so exhausted.

“Danny.” Roy tried to force out a smile. “How are you?” 

Danny couldn’t help noticing his voice sounded a bit hoarse. 

“I’m so ready to go home. Doctor says I gotta be on bedrest from now on. Not looking forward to that at all, but there’s just two and a half months left so… I guess I have no choice.” He shrugged giving him a little smile.

Roy nodded slowly and there was a small moment of silence between the two. “That’s—That’s—I’m sure you can do that.” Roy looked at him for mere seconds and then proceeded to stand up. He then crossed his arms and slowly walked towards the door giving his back to Danny.

Danny looked at the older man, he had never seen him like this and he was starting to get worried. “Is everything okay? How are you?”

Roy stopped in his steps and still with his arms crossed, he raised a hand towards his mouth and bit his thumb's nail. He turned around and looked at Danny with his eyes wide open. “I went to New York you know…” 

Danny was not expecting him to say anything as such. “What?- When?”

“Last night.” He now walked slowly towards Danny’s bed. “I bought a flight to New York the other day and I told Mike everything.” 

Danny gasped and covered his mouth with one hand. He knew how difficult this must have been for Roy. Even if it was the right thing to do, it must have been so incredibly hard. He loved Mike. Telling him everything implied admitting to him he had being unfaithful.

“How did it go?” Danny asked him very carefully.

Roy shook his head softly as he looked at him straight in the eyes. When he felt tears threatening to come out he avoided Danny’s gaze and looked towards the window which only made his eyes look shinier. “It was bad. He doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore.”

Danny slowly closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, for a second he saw how Roy’s eyes were filled with tears making his own eyes well up with tears as well.  “He broke up with you?” Danny said quickly looking down avoiding making eye contact. He felt so guilty. 

Roy looked back at him and nodded. “Yeah…” Now tears were streaming down his cheeks. “I guess it was too much for him.” His voice broke in between words.

As soon as he heard Roy’s broken voice, Danny immediately reacted and he opened his arms wide towards him so that he could hug him. 

Roy really needed comfort so he approached Danny and buried himself in his embrace. Danny pulled him towards him so that now they were both laying facing each other in Danny’s bed, Roy’s head leaning on Danny’s chest. Danny held him and started caressing his hair as Roy silently cried on his chest.

Danny couldn’t help feeling so guilty. He pressed his arms around him tightly and reassuringly. “Baby I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He whispered to him as he heard Roy sob. 

Roy was completely lost in sorrow. They spent several minutes together, Roy remained buried in Danny’s embrace in complete silence.

Moments later, Roy was starting to calm down. He rubbed his eyes and looked down on Danny’s body as he still felt him passing his hand by his hair. He could see Danny’s hospital gown giving small flutters right by his swollen mid section. He took a deep breath and absentmindedly placed a hand on Danny’s belly, right by the place he had seen the flutters.  It felt like taps towards his hands at first, then he could feel the baby shift right below his palm. 

“She’s moving.” The feeling got out a little smile from Roy.

“Yeah… ever since I’ve been here she’s been very active.” Danny said lovingly. He cupped Roy’s face with his palm, pulling his hace towards his own. He saw how the older man looked calmer now.

“I really am sorry… for all of it.” Danny whispered.

Roy shook his head. “We both made poor decisions. Right now we just need to move forward and not think about it anymore. We got a baby to worry about.”

Danny stopped caressing Roy’s hair. “Uhm… about that… I’ve been thinking.” He made a pause. “Maybe it’s better that you don’t get too close to the baby right now until we can confirm she’s yours.”

Danny felt how Roy’s muscles tensed up against him. Then Roy quickly sat up straight and turned around to sit comfortably on the edge of the bed but now facing Danny with a puzzled look. “What—?”

“I just don’t want you to get too attached and then get disappointed if she’s not yours.” Danny said carefully and in a serious tone. “You don’t deserve that.”

Roy wiped off his tears, took a deep breath and frowned. Suddenly his face turned serious. “Danny, I’m here because I want to be here. We have been close even before your pregnancy. I’ve already made up my mind and if she turns out to be mine she will be the most important person in my life. And even if she is not mine, she’ll still be special to me just because of the fact that she’s yours. I’m going to be alright either way. Trust me.”

Danny was not sure what to reply to that. “It’s just— I’ve already messed up and I don’t want to hurt you—”

Roy first shook his head. “No. I’m alright." He then pressed Danny's hand and started nodding. "I’m going to be alright.” 

Danny only stared at him. No matter what Roy said, to Danny he didn’t look alright. “Okay.”

Some time later Bonnie came in with breakfast for the three of them. Danny had already updated his mom on what he had talked to Roy regarding the baby and how their current relationship was. She was glad they were able to be on the same page now, no secrets. 

 -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Danny was released from the hospital that afternoon.

He was so excited to go back home and actually start getting everything ready for the baby. Roy had been with him the entire day. Danny and Bonnie couldn’t help noticing that Roy seemed to be very distracted and sometimes when Danny looked at him he seemed gone. They had to mention his name twice and raise their voices so that they could get his attention and that was so unlike Roy. Then when they talked to him, he would only give one word replies which was also odd for Roy.

Bonnie drove Danny back home from the hospital and Roy followed them in his car. 

Once they got home. Bonnie went to Danny’s room to get his bed ready so he could rest there.

“I’m so happy to be home!” Danny said cheerfully as he went to the living room and stretched his arms upwards.

Roy looked at him and gave him a soft smile. “Do you need anything?”

“No thanks. I’m good.” Danny said as he sat on one of the sofa’s arm rests, resting both hands on his belly lovingly. 

Roy then turned and headed towards the nearest window. He crossed his arms and brought his finger towards his mouth as he stared outside with his glance completely blank.

Danny saw his friend stand silently in front of the window for about a minute. He knew Roy had something on his mind so he didn’t want to interrupt him. He had been through so much the past few days, Danny wanted to help him in any way he could. 

After a little while, Roy turned around slowly, sighed and faced Danny.

“Danny—” He stared at Danny in the eyes trying to find the correct words for what he was about to say.

Danny didn’t say anything, he just looked at him with big expectant eyes.

“I’ve been thinking. These— These—past few days have been— rough…” 

Danny could tell Roy was having difficulty in letting out what he was about to say.

Roy stared at the younger man deep into his eyes. “I need some time on my own.”

Danny was caught off guard by Roy's words.

“I need some time for myself to just think.” Roy’s frown deepened. “Think about everything.” 

Danny didn't reply immediately. He only stared back at him as he took in what he said. Once he comprehended him,  he started nodding slowly. “Yes... of course.” Danny knew how difficult the entire situation was for Roy. He stood up and approached him with arms wide open to hug him but Roy placed his palms between them stopping him from doing so. 

“Don’t—” 

Danny became very startled and immediately stopped in his steps pulling his arms towards his chest. 

“Don’t— don’t touch me.” Roy said, his voice slightly shaking. 

Danny was completely speechless by Roy’s reaction. He had never rejected anything from him. He didn’t sound mad or angry, h e sounded deeply hurt. It broke Danny's heart.

Roy glanced at Danny. “Don’t take this the wrong way, I just need time. My decision still stands but I need to be alone right now, for a few days maybe.”

Danny’s eyes were now wide and sad. Roy’s rejection made him feel so bad and guilty about the current state his friend was in. 

Roy could see Danny’s eyes getting glassier, he didn’t want to upset him so he thought it was a good time to leave. “I’ll be close by and in touch. Take care, okay?” Roy couldn’t even look at him in the eyes. He just gave him a nod and when he saw Bonnie coming down the stairs he gave her a nod as well and left. 

Danny was left in the middle of the living room taking in what had just happened.  Once it all sunk in, he covered his face with both hands and started crying silently. His mom approached him and hugged him. 

“I didn’t mean to hurt him this way mom.” Danny said between sobs. “Did you look at him? He’s completely disappointed and devastated!”

“I know. You were both idiots. This was just a matter of time Danny.”

“If I had told him everything before maybe he wouldn’t have found this way and his reaction would be different. He wouldn’t be so upset about it. You were right. I should have told him!”

“What’s done, it’s done. We can only hope time will do him well and helps him get his feelings and his thoughts together.”

Danny was still in his mom’s embrace. He really wished Roy hadn’t found out the way he did. He could only hope, just like his mom said, that with time Roy would be able to forgive him so that they could preserve that beautiful friendship that was so important to him. He would never forgive himself if this torn them apart. 

He wanted him in his life. 

He needed him there.

_ He loved him. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a chapter that initially was not planned (that's why it's a bit shorter than usual) but further along it became necessary. We know they are both responsible for what happened but when it came to Roy, Danny had the choice of telling him or not. He chose not to, things took a bad turn, he regrets it. The issue of Danny's guilt for not telling Roy at the proper time had to be addressed and so this chapter was included.  
> Now we are really over with the depressing chapters as of now. Things will start getting better for all of them, except for Danny. Pregnancy is not all fun.  
> As always thanks for reading and leaving feedback! <3


	19. Acceptance

Two weeks had passed after Roy had last seen Danny. 

The first few days went by extremely slow for Roy. He went home after he left Danny’s house and cried his heart out that night. He let out all the anger and sorrow within him until he had no more tears left to cry. Back then everything was still so fresh in his mind it hurt. He turned to alcohol which gave him temporary relief but after the effects were over, he ended up feeling worse. He couldn’t get out of bed, he wasn’t hungry and he didn’t feel like doing anything. The theater where his show took place was undergoing repairs so he was not scheduled to perform for several days. He was relieved about that because he didn’t even have the willingness to perform. He was not well. Had it not been for his dogs, he didn’t know how would he be.

He couldn’t help it. 

As the adult he was, he knew that first and foremost he needed to calm down so that he could be in his right mind to face everything and move on. He had already made those important decisions and he was fine with them. The issue, was accepting the consequences of everything he did and the changes that would take place in his life due to those consequences. Finding peace with everything that happened was not easy. There were several things that hurt him that he needed to get his mind around so he could move on successfully. He knew he needed to get closure on them because at that moment, just the thought of each of them individually made him upset. 

He let himself cry, but only for those first couple of days. 

About three days after he had last seen Danny, he realized he had had enough. He had spent enough time crying and being miserable and that was not like him at all. He realized he needed to get up and face everything head on. That day he got out of bed with a specific mindset which was to get back on track with his life. 

It was easier said than done, he wasn’t sure where to start. 

He went to the kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee. He then went to a room in Danny’s house in which he had organized all his dresses and wigs. He stood in the doorway and glanced at all the things he had in there. What immediately caught his attention was a small sewing machine on a table in the far corner of the room. He let out a soft laugh and wondered why he didn’t think of it before. He first took out some fabric and threads and sat in front of the machine and started sawing. There were some commissions he still hadn’t finished so he started with those. As he pulled the fabric and focused on his work, he was starting to feel some sense of security. He sawed for hours while at the same time he felt himself getting calmer. He loved sawing. Watching his hands create beautiful garments was a joy for him. It was very fulfilling. 

He hadn’t realized it was already late at night when he was done. Accompanied by his dogs, he made himself a cup of tea and sat in the couch to reminisce about the happenings from the last few days. It had taken a while to let everything out, but now that he was calm enough he knew it was time to fully address the issues that had arisen after he found out the truth.

He made a list and when he was done, it all came down to three points on it.  He knew he wouldn’t get everything on that list cleared out in one night but he had to start somewhere. He would take his time. 

_The first issue on his list was: The fact that Danny had hidden from him something extremely important._

Immediately he felt betrayed. 

He had been through everything with Danny. Having him hide something of this caliber from him was so disappointing. Danny had had so many chances to just tell him straight away but he didn’t. He said he was going to tell him when he found out the baby was really his. But if that would have been the case, he thought it would have been even worse for Roy. He couldn’t imagine looking at a baby and then having to get your mind around that she’s yours. He considered it too overwhelming. 

But what if the baby was not his. If Danny found out Roy wasn’t the father then he just wouldn’t have told him about anything. He would have never got confirmation that Roy and Danny slept together and it would have stayed as what his mind processed as a dream. Like it never happened. 

'They say ignorance is bliss.' He thought. 

Was the child not his, then Danny had been willing to not say anything about their one night stand so that he and Mike would still be together. He knew Danny. Roy knew him very well. He knew his intentions were not ill. If he was willing to keep a secret of that magnitude just so that Roy could still be happy with Mike, then he was not bad at all. He had already expressed to Danny his own point of view and mentioned that he should have been told about their one night stand right after it happened. Even if it would have hurt him and his relationship with Mike, that had been the the right thing to do. Danny had already apologized about that and that was that. 

Roy understood Danny had made his decision to protect him from the truth. Even though a part of Roy couldn’t help to still be mad at Danny, it was not as big as the part of him that still had appreciation for him. He had to move past that because he really liked Danny. He was an awesome human being. He loved he did whatever he wanted not thinking what other people thought about him. He tried to protect those around him and stand up for them. He was fearless. Especially now after all the changes he had to make in his life for his baby on the way. He was so proud of him.  He couldn't let this impasse ruin his perspective of Danny. He had to understand everything from his perspective so that he could forgive him and move on. After all, they were both human. Both to blame and to take responsibility. No one was free from making mistakes, not even himself. Of that he was sure.

It took him a couple of days to get his mind around that first point on his list and during those days he got the notice that the theater was done with the repairs. As he got back on stage, he immediately felt emotionally better. The rush of adrenaline he felt every time he stepped out on the stage was almost like a drug. He loved interacting with his audience. When he stood on stage Bianca overtook him. She was invencible, she was strong. Bianca released him, she freed him from the worries and judgement of the real world. When he was Bianca, he felt he could do anything. She was her armor. She was a queen.

Days passed by and the second issue had to be addressed. He was hesitant about this one since it was the most painful one. 

_The second issue was: The end of his relationship with Mike._

He had cheated on his boyfriend. He made a mistake and got what he deserved from it.  After he had last seen him in New York, Mike completely shut him off. At first Roy would drunk text him and call him but he would get no reply. He knew he deserved everything he got from his actions. He accepted his fault but that didn’t lessen the pain. 

Their relationship was amazing. Mike came into his life when he was starting to think there wasn't someone out there for him. They met each other through mutual friends, it was instant compatibility. Once they started going out, they got along so well and that didn't change after Roy told Mike about Bianca. Mike had never seen drag race, finding out only raised his admiration and respect for Roy. Just like that, they found themselves almost getting to the three-year mark in their relationship. Many times Roy wondered if he was the one. He thought about it very seriously and every time he concluded that indeed he was. 

At the moment, it completely destroyed Roy every time he thought about him. He had been unfaithful to Mike and had ruined their relationship. It took him several days to think about it calmly without getting emotional, but he was getting there. He knew had it been the other way around, had he been the one cheated on, he would have definitely reacted the same way. He wondered if in the future maybe Mike could forgive him. After having known Mike for years, the possibilities were not in his favor. Mike was like him, that’s why they got along so well. Roy himself wouldn’t forgive an infidelity, why would Mike?

He could only hope.

More than a week had passed after he had last seen Danny. He still didn’t feel ready to face him again so instead he called his mom every day to ask how he was doing. She told him he was doing fine. She mentioned Danny had already gotten sick of staying inside the house all day. The thought of him annoyed wanting to go out made him chuckle. That day Bonnie asked him if he wanted to come to Danny’s ultrasound the following day. It had caught him off guard which made him realize he had to get his mind around that last, but not least important, point on his list.

_The baby and the fact that he might become a dad in a couple of months._

This one was the most special one. He didn’t feel upset about this. He was absolutely terrified. He politely declined Bonnie’s invitation to Danny’s ultrasound that time. 

He had ruled out the possibility of becoming a dad long time ago. Especially  when he started dating Mike. He had talked about kids with Mike and he seemed very adamant to the idea. He didn’t want kids at all. He believed once a person had kids, they surrendered to live their lives around them giving up their own individuality. He wasn’t willing to let that happen to him so he had made clear to Roy very early in their relationship that he didn’t want children.  When Roy told Mike that Danny was expecting, Mike was shocked at first. But afterwards when Roy explained to him how Danny was dealing with it, he was nothing but happy for him. He mentioned he had a new found respect for him since he was immersing into something he couldn’t even imagine for himself. 

Every time Roy thought about having a child on his own, responsibility dawned on him like a bucket of ice. He could even feel his heart beating faster just by thinking about it. So he took a good time to think about the different aspects of it, little by little, to not make it so daunting. 

He started by contemplating the fact that first and foremost it was a possibility that he would become a father. 

He knew that by the time Danny had got pregnant, he had been one of three guys Danny had slept with. So that meant he had a one in three chance of being the father. As he thought about it, he still felt fear and nervousness which he knew was not good. He couldn’t be afraid of becoming a dad if it was a plausible event. It would make things harder for him further down the line. That’s what encouraged him to get his head around the fact that if the baby was his, then he would become a father.

The immediate thought almost felt like a stab on the chest, it was that scary. He had to take deep breaths to be able to calm down as he kept thinking about it. As days passed, the more he thought about it, the less and less panicked he got and the more he got to terms with it. He knew he had made improvement once several days later he repeated to himself “If she’s mine, I’m her father.” and it didn’t cause him distress or negative feelings and he was alright. He was okay.

When he was finally able to fully accept that, he moved on to the next step which was thinking about the changes in his life he would have to make if that happened. 

The thing with that was that, since it was still a possibility he didn’t want to go in too deep into that. He didn’t know how the news of finding out if he was her dad or not would affect him. He didn’t know how he would react. But just to set the record for him, he was completely certain and sure that he would be there. If that child was his, then she was his and he would be there. That was all he let himself think about regarding the baby. He knew he couldn’t let himself think more or he would get way too attached.  He had to prepare himself for that possible outcome as well. 

He was not worried that Danny would be in his life forever if he was the father. He was always going to be there. Maybe now he would be closer but he was comfortable with him so he didn’t think that that would become an issue. Danny had promised to him that he would never hide anything from him again. Roy was definitely going to hold him up to that promise if they were going to be in each other’s lives forever. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Danny was the kind of person that took in important moments in his life and changed him. He could go back and remember whenever he made a change in his life, there had been an important event involved.

Watching his dearest friend get hurt and him being part of the reason why had been a huge blow for him. He thought by only telling him when he was completely sure he was doing the right thing. But after seeing Roy’s reaction the last time he saw him, seeing how devastated and broken he was, Danny had never felt so much regret. Roy had been nothing but supportive with him in every step of the way, even more so during his pregnancy. He didn’t deserve this from him. He would never ever do something like that to him again.

He had received orders from his doctor to keep physical activities to a minimum. The first week after he was discharged from the hospital he spent his days at home. It didn't take long for him to get bored so he opted to drive to the beach with his mom in the afternoons. Sometimes he went with his cousins or with a close friend. Once there, he rented a chair and an umbrella and he would sit admiring the sea and the sunset every single day. 

He used the time in front of the sea to just think. Think about him, about his child.

After his stay in the hospital, he noticed different changes in the baby. She had turned more active. He felt her movements getting stronger as the days passed. He also noticed certain movement patterns. She moved the most after every meal and even more so when he had sugar. One day Danny noticed a rhythmic pattern of movements. When he asked his doctor about it, she told him it was probably hiccups. He didn’t know babies could get hiccups in the womb. She explained to him that the baby was getting her breathing muscles ready for the outside world. He found it fascinating. The times he loved the most was when he turned on music really loud, he would get a couple of kicks from her when he did so as if responding to the music. He hoped his daughter would love music as much as he did. 

Every time he looked down, he was amazed to see how big the baby was getting. When he thought he couldn't get any bigger, his daughter proved him wrong. He could feel her kicking against his ribs now. He felt big. Enormous. He had never ever been so big in his life and it was taking a toll on him physically. Most of the time he felt uncomfortable pressure on his back. The shortness of breath and agitation had increased. Putting his shoes on was not an easy task anymore and finding a good position to fall sleep to had become very difficult. But what topped everything off was that he felt like he had to pee all the time. He was going to the bathroom constantly, even in the middle of the night and then he couldn't go back to sleep. 

He had never been more uncomfortable in his life. His only consolation was that as long as his daughter was alright inside him, he was willing to bear with anything. The more he thought about her, the more he couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms. He looked forward to seeing her, cuddling her and kissing her. Just the thought of her with him made him so excited. 

He wished he could share his feelings with Roy. He had been the closest person to him from the beginning of his pregnancy. Danny hadn't heard anything from him in two weeks. He wanted to call him or at least text him, but he knew this time he needed to do the right thing and give him space. Roy had told him in the hospital he wanted to be involved in the baby's life but there was still something he couldn't get out of his mind. Danny couldn’t help wondering if maybe even a tiny part of Roy felt resentment towards the baby as a result of everything that happened between him and Mike.  That was one of his biggest fears.

He knew Roy was kind.  He was certain that if her daughter was his as well, then he would love her and take care of her. It was just something that one day popped into his head and he couldn't get it out ever since. It worried Danny and he thought about it every day. Roy had rejected him on the last day he saw him. Would he do the same with the baby? He wondered if that's what they called a mother's instinct or if he was just overthinking it. Danny thoughtfully looked down and rubbed circles to the side of his belly.  His baby was the most precious being in the world. If there was a person Roy had to be mad at, that was only him. He hoped he wouldn’t take it out on her. She was so innocent. She was an angel. 

Also the thought of Roy not being the father came to his mind from time to time. At first the thought of being on his own terrified him. But during the past few days, after he was able to also have time on his own and contemplate on everything, he felt like no matter what he would be alright. Feeling his daughter move and getting stronger by the day made him gather up courage and strength within him. He never realized he could love someone as much as he already loved her. No matter what he was going to be alright. If he had to parent on his own, he would raise his daughter to be the happiest and kindest person in the world. 

He was sitting with his toes buried in the sand. The sun was several minutes away from touching the sea in the horizon and the breeze had started getting cold. He took his glasses off for a second from time to time to admire the pink and orange colors in the sky. When it was almost sunset, he placed his shades on top of his head.  Out of nowhere, a person approached him from behind next to him. He was holding two bottles of water between one arm and his chest and on his shoulder hanged a small satchel. He was wearing large sunglasses, a sleeveless tan shirt, a loose pair of black pants and sandals.

It was Roy.

“Hey, is it okay if I sit next to you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get to see more of their thoughts on the whole situation. At this point it's all out there for both of them. Roy got two weeks to get his thoughts sorted out and Danny is taking care of himself and maybe overthinking some things. They are both finally calm and rested, their feelings are not skin deep anymore. Next chapter we'll get things back to what they used to be.  
> Sorry again for the delay. My sister just left and I wanted to be with her as much as possible since I don't know when will I see her again. Also I had been studying to get my work license. Yesterday it paid off because I passed the first test yay!! Now three practical tests await for me T_T. It's been very hectic around here so it was very hard for me to find time to get this chapter finished and edited properly. Being realistic, the soonest I could get next chapter up would be after my exams. That is two weeks from now... T_T So sorry guys!  
> As always thank you for your incredible feedback! Your messages are so uplifting! Especially when I'm studying and thinking I can't keep it up. They are life savers. <3 Thank you so much!


	20. By The Sunset

“Hey, is it okay if I sit next to you?”

Danny widened his eyes when he realized who the person who approached him was. It was the last person he expected to see. Danny was so surprised he didn’t realize he had stayed silent for a little while. Roy then lowered his face and raised his eyebrows expectantly since Danny was not saying anything.  Danny then blinked several times nervously shaking his head slightly. "Hey! Yeah! Sure!" He extended his hand inviting him to sit next to him. 

Roy went ahead and sat in the chair next to Danny.  "I brought water." Roy handed a bottle to Danny.

"Thanks!" Danny felt a bit awkward. Roy had definitely caught him by surprise.

"It's nice here." Roy admired the view once he crossed his legs and got comfortable in the seat.

"Yeah it is." Danny opened his bottle of water and tool a sip. "How did you know I was here?" He asked curious.

"Your mom told me. I messaged you about half an hour ago but you weren't replying--"

"Oh my God, really? I'm so sorry!" Danny immediately grabbed his bag and checked his phone. He forgot he had put it in silent mode. He saw he had missed texts and calls from Roy and his mom. He went to see his mom's messages quickly. She was telling him that Roy had gone to the house looking for him and since he wasn't answering, she had given him his location.

Meanwhile Roy kept speaking. "--so I asked your mom and she said you would be here. I hope you don't mind."

"No. No. It's fine.” Danny put his phone away, shaking his head and smiling.

"Great cuz I was not intending on leaving either." Roy smiled mischievously to Danny who in return laughed back. “So, how have you been?" Roy asked.

"Good." Danny said shrugging his shoulders. "I mean. Well, obviously my body has seen easier and simpler days but it's okay."

"How's the baby?"

"She's great! She’s big!” Danny placed a hand to the side his belly.

Roy stared at him and laughed. "Your belly looks big."

“I know, I swear I can feel her growing! It’s crazy. She weighs almost three pounds can you believe that?”

“Three pounds?!” Roy was impressed, he had only left for two weeks and the baby had progressed a lot during that time.

“Yeah! I feel so heavy. My back hurts and I have to go to the bathroom every five minutes. I get winded so easily now and I still got two more months to go. I'm going to be miserable by the end of this." Danny said rolling his eyes. 

Roy smiled to him nodding. “You are thirty weeks now right?”

“Yeah. Two more months to go. She still needs to at least double her weight by the time she’s born. Honestly I don’t know how much bigger can I get.” Danny pressed his left hand to the top on his belly and his right hand right below it. It made his belly look even bigger. “Look at this.” 

Roy stared at Danny, he was amazed by him. He would have never imagined when they first met that they would find themselves in such situation. Out of nowhere, curiosity got to him and he slowly extended his hand and placed it on Danny’s belly. It felt round and slightly soft to the touch. For a minute he thought he had imagined feeling something and he looked at Danny. 

Danny started nodding. “She’s moving.”

Roy could feel the baby shift inside Danny, it made him smile. “She wants out.”

“Oh no, no, no.” Danny shook his head. “She knows she can’t come out yet. Uh-uh. Nope. Not yet.” 

They both laughed. 

Danny was glad they got some normalcy back. "How about you? How are you? Haven’t heard from you in a while.” Danny was still worried for him so he figured it was a good time to ask.

Roy let out a long sigh.  "I'm alright." He made a pause and pulled his hand away from him towards his chin, scratching it nervously. "I wanted to apologize about the way I left your house the other day. I didn't mean to be rude... I was so— confused and I really needed time. I needed to get away for a while."

Danny frowned. “No, don't worry about that. As long as you are okay, take as long as you want.”

Roy then stared at the horizon in front of him thoughtfully. "I've been thinking about everything.” 

Danny looked at Roy paying close attention. 

“About Mike, about you and the baby..." Roy made a pause. "It was though at first but later on I was able get my head around everything and here I am." Roy then turned to Danny and smiled to him.

Danny didn’t say anything. He only stared at him trying to figure out his expression and also trying to prepare himself for anything that Roy might say.

"I'm not gonna lie. It hasn't been easy.” Roy opened his bottle and took a sip of his water. “I was mad at everything… At me, at you.” 

Roy made a pause, but once he saw Danny was about to say something he continued talking.

“And it’s okay you know... I’m in a good place right now.” Roy said firmly. “This has actually taught me a lot about myself. Some people might think I’m more knowledgeable and mature since I’m older, but look at me! I had a one night stand and I left you pregnant.” Roy stared at him wide eyed.

Danny knew this was serious conversation but he wasn't expecting such statement and he couldn’t help not laughing at that. Just the fact that Roy was able to turn the entire situation into a laughing matter made Danny know that he was doing better.

Roy also laughed. “I just got to keep going.”

When Danny finished laughing, he grabbed his water bottle and started rolling the cap on and off anxiously. “This time we’ve been away, I have fully realized that what I did to you was wrong. Even saying sorry is not enough.” 

Roy nodded, his expression turned serious for a bit but then he relaxed again. “You know, we have been friends for so long. We have all made decisions we are not proud of at some point in our lives, it’s just part of being human. The good part is that we have the ability to choose. We can choose to love, to forgive, to resent, to hate.”

"And you chose to..." Danny said curious raising his eyebrows expectantly.

“What you did was wrong.” Roy looked at him wide eyed. “But you apologized and I’ll take it.” 

Danny widened his eyes at Roy’s statement. 

“You are an important person in my life and I want to be around you. And if I want that to happen we need to put this past us. We have gone through so many things together, we can’t let this be the end right?” Roy’s tone was kind.

Danny’s smile turned so wide. If he could have, he would have stood up and thrown himself in Roy's arms. "I want you in my life too forever and ever!” Dany screamed happy and relieved as he opened his arms wide towards Roy.

Roy stood up and kneeled next to Danny so he could hug him. They both felt a huge sense of relief and closure as they stayed in each other’s embrace for a while. They valued their friendship greatly. If they wanted to remain in each other’s lives, they had to surpass this hurdle and move on.  They stayed at the beach for a couple more minutes. They admired the sunset as they talked about random things and gossiped about the other queens and what they were up to. It was almost getting dark and the wind was starting to get colder.

“I think we should go now.” Roy said as he crossed his arms trying to remain warm.

“Yeah. I’m hungry.” Danny said as he grabbed his bag and crossed it over his body. He placed both hands on the arms of the chair and looked down as he spread his knees to the sides so he could build momentum to get up. When he was about to stand, he looked up and Roy was already in front of him offering him a hand.

Danny smiled to him and extended both hands towards him. “Thanks but I’m going to need both of them.”

Roy held Danny's hands and pulled him up to a stand. Once up, Danny stretched his arms upwards and then placed his hands on his back stretching backwards.

"Do we have to take this back?" Roy asked him pointing at the umbrella and the seats.

"No, it's fine, someone will take care of it.”

"Oh, okay.” Roy turned towards the boardwalk, gave a few steps and then he looked back at Danny. He couldn't help noticing his gait had changed. His hips swung with every step he made which was accentuated by the sinking of his feet in the sand. 

"Are you alright there?" Roy looked at him 

"Yeah. I'm good. This is pretty much the only workout I do all day so..." Danny frowned and shrugged his shoulders not giving it much importance. 

"Are you sure? Doctor said to keep physical activity to a minimum." Roy really wanted to make sure he was okay.

"Yeah. I told her about this and she said as long as I don't overdo it, we're good. Besides I walk slow now. I can't move faster even if I try." Danny said letting out a soft laugh.

Roy nodded and continued observing him as he gave a couple more steps towards the boardwalk.  He clearly saw Danny was making the effort to walk in the sand, he looked like he was trying to keep his balance. Danny had always been very active and playful. He was one of those people that could never hold still so it was odd for Roy to look at him in such condition. With no hesitation Roy extended his hand towards him.

Danny had been looking down at the sand to see where he was stepping on but with a slight lift of his head, he saw Roy's hand in front of him. Danny looked at Roy's hand first and then at him. 

"Thanks." Danny smiled and grabbed Roy's hand. 

Walking at Danny's pace, Roy could feel the slight pull from Danny’s hand as he took each step. 

As soon as they crossed the boardwalk and Danny stepped on the concrete of the parking lot, he took a couple of deep breaths and leaned back on his car.

“Are you okay there?” Roy said looking at him worried.

“Yes I’m fine. It’s just that once in a while after I walk I get a little lightheaded.”

Roy got worried. Once again he was able to witness the things Danny had to deal with with the pregnancy. He felt bad for him.  “Are you sure? Do you have the keys? I’ll drive.”

“Yeah. Sometimes it happens even when I’m home so it’s no big deal. I have snacks in the car it’s fine.” Danny said as he put his hand inside his bag, pulled out his car keys unlocking the car and gave them to Roy. Roy then went to his side and opened the car door for him.

“Thanks.” Danny said as he got inside the car. “You didn’t bring your car?”

“No, my manager gave me a ride. I had a meeting with him all day.” Roy said as he started the car and headed to Danny's mom's house.

“Really? Why? What’s up?” 

“Well, he told me there’s a chance I might go to the UK next month.”

“Wow that’s awesome!” Danny said as he pulled out some cookies from the dashboard. “What about your residency show here?”

“It just happens that I don’t have shows that week. I didn’t schedule any for that time because I was gonna go on a trip with Mike.”

“Oh…” Danny had forgotten about him. He was about to put a cookie inside his mouth but after listening to Mike's name, he suddenly stopped feeling hungry. “Did you talk to him again?” He asked carefully.

Roy shook his head. “No. I’ve tried but he doesn’t want to know anything about me. He doesn’t reply my texts, he doesn’t answer my calls.” Roy shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know what else to do.”

“Have you thought of going back to New York? Trying to talk to him again?” Danny asked concerned.

“I have but I don’t think I’m ready for that at this point. Just remembering his face telling me—“ Roy made a pause as he pressed the steering wheel tighter. Danny could tell it was still a touchy subject for him. “Telling me all sorts of things. I can’t face him again right now.” 

“Maybe he needs time.”

“Maybe… I just hope he can forgive me. I’m not gonna lie… I miss him.” Roy frowned for bit. 

Danny had been wanting to ask Roy something that was eating him up inside. He needed to know. “You don’t resent her, do you?”

“Huh?” Roy was confused.

Danny realized needed to be more straightforward. “Do you blame the baby for your break up?” 

Roy looked at him as if Danny was out of his mind. “What? No!” Roy frowned. “That would be ridiculous! She didn’t do anything. Why would I blame her? It was all on us.” He said as he placed his hand to his chest for a second. 

“I just had to ask." Danny raised his hands. "We agreed no more secrets between us and I needed to have that cleared.” 

Roy shook his head. “I would never blame her for that. I love her.” He smiled to him.

Danny was very relieved to hear that. It was one of the last doubts he had concerning Roy and his daughter. He felt more at ease now. “Alright! Enough about that! Tell me more about you! About this UK gig! Are you going to be doing the show you’re doing here or do they want you for something else?”

“It’s to bring my show on tour to the UK. If I agree to this I would be out of the country for at least a week.”

“If you agree to it? What's missing? You don’t want to go?”

“I want to go." Roy said nodding. "It’s just that I’m not sure if it’s a good time. You know… after what happened with the baby last time, I don’t feel comfortable leaving for that long.”

“What? No! You should just go. We’re going to be fine. I’m with my mom or with my cousins all the time so it’s gonna be okay. It’s an amazing opportunity for you so should take it and go.”

“I don’t know, I’ll think about it. We’ve been through so much ever since you found out you were pregnant. I don’t want to miss her birth.”

Danny was moved that Roy wanted to be there when the baby was born. “You won’t miss it, her due date is still ten weeks from now.”

“But doctor said she could come early.” 

“She could. But I try not to think too much about that. I’m getting all of her stuff ready though.”

“You went shopping?” Roy said impressed.

“Not yet.” Danny shrugged his shoulders. “I just washed all of the clothes I got in the baby shower.” Danny said very confident.

Roy rolled his eyes and laughed. “Wow. You’ve definitely outdone yourself!”

“Right?” Danny was completely clueless about the sarcasm in Roy’s statement. He was just happy that he was able to spend time with Roy like that. Just like they used to. He hoped things would only get better from then on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! It was so liberating to write this chapter after all the drama from the last ones. They are both moving forward, even if some things might still be hard to talk about specially for Roy. The following chapters will deal with both of them getting ready for the baby and also with Roy's mental process as he deals with the uncertainty of not knowing whether he is going to become a dad or not.  
> I figured I would edit this chapter now because my test is the following monday and I didn't want to make you wait another week for an update. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and that you have an amazing week! Thanks in advance for the feedback!


	21. What If?

Danny was now 31 weeksalong.

Roy was at the house every other day now, more frequently than before. This didn’t go unnoticed by Danny’s family who came to visit him and his mom quite often. With Danny’s approval, Bonnie informed their close relatives what the actual situation was with Danny and Roy. They were all shocked at first but afterwards they were nothing but supportive of them. They knew Roy had been in Danny’s life for years now and they also knew that he had always been a good friend to him. Since they knew him and liked him, they were all secretly praying and rooting for Roy to be the baby’s dad. 

Whenever Roy came over to Danny’s house, he would never come empty handed. He would always bring food for the three of them or sometimes he would bring fruits and vegetables for Danny. Bonnie appreciated the gestures Roy was doing for Danny. On his own way, she could see him taking care of Danny, worrying about him and being there for him. Whoever took the time to do something like that for anyone in her family would always be welcome in her home. 

They all got along great, things had gotten back to what they were before. 

As the days went by, Danny kept feeling himself getting heavier. He would think about the times in which he could walk, run and jump up and down without getting so winded. The days when he used to perform and crowd surf seemed so long ago. It bothered him because he had always been very active and now he was getting tired just by walking for a while. It made him frustrated. He wondered why sometimes he took those small things for granted. Now even the thought of performing seemed exhausting.

He had started feeling the baby’s kicks towards his ribs. It didn’t hurt much but they were uncomfortable. The baby was mostly active during the day, so she didn’t keep him up during the night. The issue at night time was that he woke up every night at least once to go to the bathroom. Sometimes he wished his pregnancy was over, and he could have his baby in his arms already. But then he immediately retracted himself. He knew the baby needed to stay within him as long as possible for her well being. Once he thought about that, any type of discomfort immediately became bearable.

Roy had mentioned to Danny he wanted to accompany him to his doctor’s appointments from here on. Since Bonnie wanted to be there as well, they agreed to take turns in doing so. 

They were now in Roy’s car going for an ultrasound. 

“I’m so excited.” Danny said as he searched for 4D ultrasound pictures of babies on his phone. “Every time I go for an ultrasound I feel as if I’m going to go visit her and see her even though she’s right here.” He laughed and placed a hand on his now large belly. 

“Yeah! Me too.” Roy hadn’t been to any of Danny’s ultrasound appointments besides the first one, when he found out he was pregnant. 

Danny looked at the window and noticed that Roy was driving through a different road than what he usually went for the ultrasound. “Which way are you taking? Are you kidnapping me bitch?” Danny said playfully.

Roy smiled. “No smartass. We are going to a new ultrasound place.”

Danny looked curious. “What? A new ultrasound place? Why? What’s wrong with the old one?”

Roy looked at Danny excited. “We are going for an HD live ultrasound.” He emphasized the word ‘live.’ with a wide smile. “The old one didn’t have that.”

Danny laughed. “What? I don’t know what the hell that is but it sounds cool!”

“Look it up on your phone and see the difference!”

Danny looked it up on his phone and saw how the images of an HD live ultrasound were a lot more clearer than the 4D ones. “Wow! It looks amazing! They are so real! It’s just like how we are going to see her when she is born! This is so cool!” He screamed and then laughed.

“Yeah! I didn’t like 4D. It makes babies look like play-doh.” 

Danny laughed at Roy’s comment. 

They got right on time for Danny’s appointment so they were able to enter directly to the office. Danny laid on the examiner’s table and then the technician proceeded to set up her equipment. Even though there was a small screen for the technician, there was a huge TV on the opposite side of the room which Danny could look at while laying down. The technician lifted Danny’s shirt uncovering his belly and placed the really cold gel on top of it. It was so cold it made Danny flinch and laugh.

“I’m sorry about that. The gel is cold.” The technician said giving Danny an apologetic look.

Danny laughed nodding. “Yeah, I can feel that.”

They all laughed.

“Alright, let’s see how this little one is doing.” She placed the transducer probe on the lower part of Danny’s belly. 

First they started with the 2D type ultrasound so they could get measurements of the baby’s head, legs, placenta implantation and also quantity of amniotic fluid. 

“She is looking really good. This is her head.” She moved the cursor in the screen pointing towards the image of a white circle. “We can see here she’s already head down. This is good, she is already getting into a good position for labor.” Then the technician moved the transducer probe higher up his belly. “This is her spine, her little arms and legs. It’s a girl alright! All looks fine, her blood circulation as well is normal. I’m going to take some measurements but first…” The technician pressed some buttons and then the baby’s heartbeat was echoing through the room. “That’s her heartbeat, 146 beats per minute.”

“Awww…” Danny was so happy. Just the thought of listening to his child’s heart was so comforting. 

Roy couldn’t take his eyes off the screen, he found it fascinating how he could see her as well as hear her heartbeat even though she was still inside her mother, or in this case, her father. He couldn’t help himself, he was so excited he grabbed Danny’s hand. 

Danny felt the sudden touch, looked at him and smiled.

The technician then went back to frame the baby’s head and pressed some buttons. The image they had on the TV in front of them changed. “Alright. First, this is 4D.” 

All of a sudden they both saw the figure of the baby’s face with her left arm right next to her cheek. 

“Oh look at that!” Roy said looking at the screen. 

Before when they were watching the 2D ultrasound, they were guided by the technician as she was telling them what they were looking at. But now looking at her in 4D was something else. They could actually see her.

“Oh my god…” Danny covered his mouth with his free hand. “Look at her! She’s so cute! And she doesn’t look like play-doh!” Danny said now looking at Roy. 

“Are you sure?” Roy raised and eyebrow and then laughed as he kept staring at the screen. 

The technician kept pressing some buttons in the machine. “Now let me just get a good frame.” And after a few seconds she smiled. “Now this… is the HD live image.” She said happily, expectant to see the look on their faces. “Not very much like play-doh, huh?”

Danny and Roy stared at the screen, amazed at how they could see her so clearly. She looked so beautiful and so peaceful inside the womb. Her eyes were closed and her little arm was covering a bit of her face. 

“Wow! Danny look at her!” Roy smiled and covered his mouth with his free hand.

Danny was so excited. He had never seen her so clearly. “Oh my God! Look at her eyes and her little nose! Take pictures!” Danny pressed Roy’s hand and shook it.

“Don’t worry, we will send you the link to your email so you can download the video of your ultrasound at home.” The technician said smiling to them.

Roy and Danny's eyes were fixated on the screen. Out of nowhere she moved her little fist that was covering her face to a side and smiled.

“Oh! She’s smiling!” Danny exclaimed.

“And look at that.” The technician intervened. “That’s definitely a dimple! She’s got her daddy’s dimples.”

The room went completely silent. 

Danny and Roy had been so focused on her smile that they hadn’t paid attention to her cheeks. On her left cheek they both saw a dimple.  Danny widened his eyes and then looked at Roy.  Roy’s eyes were also wide open from the impression but he couldn’t pull his sight away from the screen. So many things going through his head. This little baby girl had a dimple, Danny didn’t have dimples. 

_ He did.  _

He couldn’t help wondering if this meant something. Just the thought that this could be his child, made him feel a mixture of emotions. He felt nervousness, excitement and at that precise moment, so much love for her. But at the same time he knew he needed to stop feeling all those things to not set himself for disappointment in case she wasn’t his. In a matter of seconds all those thoughts came to him, it was so overwhelming he grasped Danny’s hand tighter, his smile slowly fading. 

Danny saw Roy’s reaction from looking at the screen. He knew something was up but he wasn’t sure on how to approach the situation so he didn’t say anything to him. He turned to the ultrasound technician instead. “Can we look at her right cheek to see if she has a dimple there?” Danny asked curiously, trying to get a reaction from Roy.

“Let’s see.” The technician tried to move the ultrasound probe a little bit but the image didn’t change much. 

Roy kept staring at the screen, his smile slowly coming up once again.

The technician moved the probe a little bit. In her other cheek they could see like a dark little spot. “I’m afraid this is the best we can get. The placenta is covering her right cheek a little bit so we can’t be sure if what we see there, is a dimple or it’s just a shadow.”

To Danny it didn’t look like a shadow at all, that was definitely a dimple on her right cheek.  His daughter had dimples on both cheeks. He couldn’t help wondering what Roy was thinking at the moment. He just saw him, holding his hand and staring at the screen as if it was just him and the TV alone. 

“That definitely looks like a dimple to me.” Danny said looking towards Roy.

Finally after a few seconds of staring into the screen, Roy looked back at Danny and nodded. “They do look like dimples, huh?” 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Once they were finished with the appointment, they headed straight to Danny’s house.  Bonnie was finishing getting lunch ready. Danny went inside the house followed by Roy who had the folder of the ultrasound with him. They went straight to the kitchen.

“I’m hungry!” Danny said as he sat on the kitchen table.

“Hey! How did it go?” Bonnie said as she grabbed some plates.

“Mom! It was amazing! We went to a different ultrasound place and they did an HD Live ultrasound. You are not going to believe it, we saw her so clearly! Not like play-doh!” Danny said excited.

“What do you mean play-doh, you idiot?” Bonnie said approaching them and leaving the plates aside. “I wanna see! Show me! Show me pictures!”

Roy approached Bonnie and pulled out a strip of stills from the ultrasound, handing them to her. “Just so you know, she’s still a girl for now.” Roy said laughing.

Bonnie immediately looked at the pictures. She then gasped, covered her mouth and looked shocked at Danny and Roy. 

“Danny, she looks just like you when you were a baby!” She looked at the strips again. “Oh my God!… She has dimples!” She widened her eyes and she couldn’t help to look at Roy smiling. To not be so obvious she stared back again at the pictures. “Oh my goodness she’s so adorable! Look at those chubby cheeks! And she’s smiling in this one!” Bonnie was so happy and excited. “Oh! She’s a perfect mix of…” She stopped talking and then looked at the two men in front of her and couldn’t finish her sentence.

Danny widened her eyes as if telling her to please stop talking. 

“Well I mean…” Bonnie's eyes switched from Roy to Danny, unsure on what to say.

“It’s alright Bonnie.” Roy said. “I mean, she has dimples. I guess that gives me some extra points, doesn’t it?”

“Hell yeah it does!” Bonnie nodded thankful for Roy’s intervention because she didn’t really know how to mend what she had said before. “It definitely does!”

“Anyway…” Danny said as he stood up and went to hug his mom from the back. “We will know next month! Mom I’m hungry!!” 

“Lunch is ready! I was about to serve the food when you got here. Why don’t you get off your ass, get the napkins and set the table?” Bonnie said to Danny, breaking free from his embrace to get the plates.

“It's okay I’m on it.” Roy was already so familiar with Danny’s house, he knew where everything was so he just grabbed some forks, knives and napkins and brought them to the kitchen table. He could hear Danny's mom saying that he should let Danny do those things but he wasn't paying attention to her. He couldn’t help thinking that Bonnie had noticed as well that the baby resembled Danny and also him. 

The ultrasound had made a difference for him. The chances of him being the father of Danny’s baby had dramatically increased by just getting to look at her. He couldn't explain exactly what it was but he felt as if something inside of him was telling him that she was indeed his daughter. He wondered if that was what they called ‘paternal instinct.’ He noticed it was similar to what he felt when he was with his dogs but this was a thousand times stronger. He then realized he had just made that comparison and started laughing out loud. 

Danny looked at him like he was a crazy man. “What are you laughing at?”

Roy kept laughing hysterically so much that he was bending over. “Nothing!”

“I wanna laugh too! Tell me!” Danny had started laughing just by listening to his contagious laugh.

“I’ll tell you someday.” Roy wiped some tears off his eyes from all the laughter.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Roy had spent the day with Danny and his mom. Afterwards he went to the theater, performed and then went home later that evening. It had been a good day. 

Once home, he laid in the couch for a while, his dogs were all over him in less than a second licking his face and trying to cuddle with him.  Even though he was playing with them, he couldn’t get the image of the baby out of his mind. He stood up and went to his room. He then looked at his phone and noticed that Danny had sent him a message asking for the download link to the baby’s ultrasound. He had completely forgotten that at the time he scheduled the appointment, he had given them his own email and the link would be sent there. Roy checked his email and indeed he had received the download link to the video which he immediately forwarded to Danny. He continued to stare at his phone’s screen absentmindedly. Only the vibration of Danny texting him back, thanking him for the link, brought him back.  He didn’t know looking at the baby would have such an effect on him. All he thought about now was ‘What if…?’. 

He wondered if she really was his.

He stood up and went to get his laptop to download the video too. The download didn’t take long and he watched the ultrasound one more time. Only when the screen turned dark and he saw his reflection, he realized he had been smiling like a fool the whole time he watched the ultrasound.  When he finished, he went back to the part in which the baby’s dimples could be seen and paused it there. He stared at the screen, his chin resting on his knuckles thoughtfully. 

Danny was right. The baby had dimples in both of her cheeks. ‘Could it be possible?’ he thought. For once the thought of the baby being his, completely excited him and filled his heart with pride. 

He knew he had one in three chances. There was this other guy named Jesus and also a guy Danny hadn’t been able to meet again.  He had forgotten he still had the picture on his phone of the guy named the Jesus. He scrolled through his camera roll until he found it, then he zoomed in on this guy’s face. The first thing that caught his attention was that he had round cheeks and no dimples. He put his phone next to the computer screen, where the image of the baby was still paused and stared at it comparing the two.  His focused eyes went from the picture to the computer screen several times. 

After a couple of minutes examining the two, he then  shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 

“Nope." He turned off his phone. "It’s not him. She’s just too cute.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I uploaded a chapter a week after a previous update. I'm so happy and proud about that. There are less than ten chapters left to finish this story. That's so exciting and sad at the same time. I'm still debating whether there will be a sequel or not. Most likely it would consist of a series of one shots set years from the present but I don't know if that would be good or bad for the sake of this story.   
> There's tons of fluff upcoming in the story I hope you'll like it! I will have more free time next week to update since my test is monday. (It's one of those life changing exams I need to pass.) I'm dying of nervousness. If I pass, I'm throwing the party of the year. Please keep me in your prayers. Y_Y


	22. Getting Ready

The days passed very slowly for Danny. 

Most days he was either at the beach or at his doctor’s appointments. They showed the doctor the ultrasound report, she read it entirely and she informed them the baby looked really good. From that point onwards, the most important thing was for the baby to gain weight and stay inside until he reached at least 37 weeks. That meant Danny had about 4 more weeks to go.

Danny’s belly was so big, doing the simplest things like putting his shoes on, had turned so difficult. He was going to the bathroom almost every hour now to only pee a little. He liked going on short walks to the mall but hated getting winded so easily. Also he had started feeling very light and short contractions. He already knew what those were since he had already felt them when he got admitted. He felt about four short contractions a day and the doctor told him that it was fine. 

Ever since the ultrasound, Roy had been coming every single day. Even if it was just for ten minutes before he had to go to his shows in the evenings, he made the time to check on Danny. As always, he brought him and his mom food. Especially more so now, since in the last appointment he heard the doctor say that the baby needed to gain weight. After looking at the ultrasound, something had changed in Roy. He didn’t know what it was exactly but he felt like he needed to be there watching over Danny and the baby. Also, sometimes he thought about Mike. He missed the messages they would write to each other every night before they went to bed. Roy couldn’t help it, he still messaged Mike every night telling him how his day had gone and hoping Mike's day had also gone well. Roy knew it wasn’t appropriate. He knew it was not the right way to get over his break up but he couldn’t help it. He missed him.

Danny was now 32 weeks and a couple of days pregnant. The discomforts that came along with the pregnancy were exacerbating slowly but surely. Lately, he had been having this particular light stabbing pain, on his lower abdomen, that radiated to his groin and also his back and legs. Going up and down the stairs and also sitting down was uncomfortable. He didn’t pay too much attention to it since there were so many other important things he had to get done and get ready for the baby. He had asked Roy if he wanted to come along with him to get some stuff he still needed. Roy was more than happy to come with him so they agreed to go shopping together. 

On the day of of their shopping trip they arrived early on a weekday since they knew there wouldn’t be many people then. Had Danny not being so pregnant, he would have been running around the store looking, grabbing and playing with everything. Instead he was leaning on the bar of the shopping cart as he pushed it with his weight and Roy pulled it from the front. Roy decided it was best if they went through every aisle in order so that they could look at everything, grab anything they needed and not come back again to that aisle since Danny couldn’t stand or walk for long periods of time.

Danny had already received so many things in his baby shower but they were still missing some essentials. A crib was one of them.

They walked through an aisle filled with all types of cribs. Danny slid his hand through the rail of a dark wooden crib. “I wanted to get a wooden rectangular crib like this one, but now that I think about it I don’t think they are as practical as this other one.” Danny said turning around and placing both hands on the edges of a round crib that had wheels. “I saw this one online and fell in love with it. It’s a transformer crib! I read it can be extended into a larger crib and if not, the extension part can be used as a changing table. What do you think?” He looked at Roy.

Roy nodded impressed that a crib could go so many ways. “Sure! I really like it too. It's very practical and it says here..." He grabbed and read the tag with more information on the crib. "It can be used eight different ways. Let’s get it.” 

Danny widened his eyes and smiled happily. “Aww… my baby has a bed!”

Roy called a person from the store so they could get one of the cribs for them.  They kept walking through the store and reached the clothes section. 

“She’s got tons of gender neutral clothes she got from my family at the shower and my mom has got so many dresses for her. I think I’m good with clothes. Maybe if I see something I really really like, I’ll get it.”

“That’s cool, to dress her in gender neutral clothing.” Roy nodded.

“Yeah! I mean, she’s just a baby. As long as she wears something it shouldn’t be a problem. For the first few years I’ll be the one picking her outfits so that should be fun. Later on she can put on whatever she likes. I’ll let me have some fun first.” Danny laughed.

Roy then saw clothes that were very tiny. He was curious so he grabbed a onesie from that group and saw in the tag that it had the letter ‘P.’

“What is this? Is this for a doll? It’s so little.” Roy said turning around the onesie several times.

Danny saw what Roy was holding, he knew what it was. “No. That’s for preemie babies.”

“Preemie?” Roy asked confused.

“Premature babies. You know... born too early.” Danny clarified.

“Oh…” Roy had never seen a piece of clothing so tiny. It was hard to get his mind around the fact that a baby could be that small and fit in a onesie that was as big as his palm.

Danny took the onesie from Roy's hand and stared at it thoughtfully. “Should I take one of these?” Danny seemed somewhat serious. “Just in case?” Danny sighed then looked at Roy.

“I don’t think we are going to need clothes this size.” Roy said being very optimistic. “But— we might just take a pair of these just so we have them, you know.”

“Just to be prepared right?” Danny asked softly.

Roy nodded. They picked out about three preemie outfits and left that section.

Danny had seen several baby hauls on youtube and he had an idea on the things he still needed to get. The most important one was the crib so he was happy they got that first. Then on his list there was laundry detergent for baby clothes, bottle brush cleaners, nail clippers, brush and comb set, a wet sipes box and refills, baby lotions, a swaddle blanket, burpy bibs, diapers, sheet sets for the crib among other stuff so they went to get all of those. They grabbed some stuff that wasn’t on his list as they saw them through the aisles they walked in such as diaper bags for the pail that he had got on his baby shower and also 4-ounce baby bottles from different brands so they could see which one worked better for the baby, then later on they would get more. They also saw tons of things for babyproofing the house but they figured that since the baby won’t move on her own for at least the first months, it didn’t make any sense to get those at the moment. They would get them when needed.

As they walked, Danny saw a little plastic stick in a package that grabbed his attention. I t said that the parents could use the stick to clean the baby’s bottom so that they wouldn’t get their hands dirty.

“Are you serious?” He grabbed it, shook his head and closed his eyes. “I can’t believe there are parents not willing to touch their babies’ butt or poo.” He put the thing back on the rack. “I’d be like ‘bitch you made that butt, why wouldn’t you want to touch your babies’ butt?!’”

Roy nodded agreeing with Danny, he also thought it was ridiculous.

Once on the check out there was this pregnant lady talking to her friend non-stop about how when her babies got sick she always gave them drops of tylenol and that it worked wonders. Also she said that had it not been for the gas relief drops she would have been kicked out of a plane. Danny and Roy looked at each other and Roy immediately grabbed the bottles of medicine thatthe lady had mentioned which happened to be on the racks next to the check out and put them in their cart. Once the cashier had passed everything their total was more than a thousand dollars. Danny had an idea it was going to be about that much so he was not surprised. He reached towards his pant’s back pocket to get his card and handed it to the cashier. To his surprise, Roy was pressing some buttons on the card reader and handed it back to the cashier.

Danny was confused. He looked at the cashier and then back to Roy.

“It’s okay, I got it.” Roy said smiling.

“What?” Danny’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “No! No, no, no!” He looked at the cashier. “You know what, cancel that and use my card.”

“I’m sorry sir but I can’t do that now.” The young girl smiled in complicity with Roy.

“Are you serious? This is way too much.” Danny was still in disbelief.

“Look, I choose how, when and on what I spend my money on and I wanted to spend it on her. It's okay.” He said smiling. 

“I can’t believe this.” Danny still felt it was wrong and of one thing he was sure. “I just don’t want you to get too atta—”

“It’s alright.” Roy put his palms in front of him, signaling him to stop talking. “No matter what I’m already attached even if she’s not mine Danny.” He smiled. “I’ll be around whether you want it or not.” He said as kept that wide smile on his face at all times.

Danny sighed. A part of him was telling him that it was not alright at all what Roy had done and the other part of him told him to just let him do it.  “Alright... Thank you. But that’s it! You are not getting her anything else! I can’t believe she’s this spoiled already.”  Danny was sure his daughter was gonna love having him around.

Afterwards they went to a vegan restaurant they both liked and Danny made Roy promise he would let him pay for the meal, to which Roy agreed. As Danny sat on the restaurant’s chair, for a second he thought he felt something click right below his belly. Right after, the stabbing pain he had constantly been feeling on his lower abdomen and his leg seemed to be getting rapidly stronger. Specially when he spread his legs appart in his seat when he tried to get comfortable. 

Roy noticed Danny made a gesture of pain as he sat down.  “Are you okay?” 

Danny had a deep frown on his face and he looked down to his belly. “Yeah. I think so... I don’t know. It hurts right between my legs.”

Roy widened his eyes. “Is it bad?”

“I don’t know. It’s definitely not like a contraction, it’s more like a stabbing and pulling kind of pain.” 

“Maybe we should go home now. Let’s just get take out.” Roy said worried. He knew they had walked for almost three hours at the store and it had been a while since Danny had walked for that long.

“No! It’s fine.” Danny did want to eat out with Roy. He had been so good to him after buying so much stuff for his daughter, he wanted to at least treat him lunch. “It’s not that bad.” He lied and smiled to him.

“Alright. But let me know if it gets worse.” Roy told him.

"I will." Danny forced out a fake smile. The pain was definitely there and it was getting stronger.

Once they were done having lunch they went back to Danny's house. Roy was worried since Danny had been acting strange throughout their meal. He had a tired and serious expression and he had barely touched his food. 

“Can you help me get out of the car?” Danny opened the car door and waited for Roy to come to his side so he could help him up.

As Roy pulled him up, Danny let out a painful groan and Roy felt Danny's hands press on to him tighter than usual. Once Danny started walking, Roy noticed his waddling gait was slower than usual.

Danny opened the door. “Mom, I’m home.” He said as he walked into the house, holding the lower part of his belly.

“Hey! How did everything go?” Bonnie asked excited. She immediately noticed that Danny looked very uncomfortable. “Is everything okay?” 

“Yeah. Everything was awesome, I just need to lay down for a while. I think I overdid it with the walking. I’m gonna go straight to bed.” He then looked at Roy. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Thank you so much. For everything.” He tried to let out a smile.

Roy waved to him. “No problem! Bye.”

Bonnie and Roy saw him leaving the room walking slowly.

“How much stuff did you guys get?” Bonnie asked.

“Tons. The car is completely loaded with baby stuff. We even got a crib.”

“Oh! That’s awesome. He has already made space in his room for all the baby stuff.” 

“Yeah, we got—”

“Mom! Help! Mom!” 

Bonnie and Roy heard Danny yelling. They both thought it was odd, he had just left and he had been alright. They didn’t waste a second and went to him. They found him standing in the middle of a flight of stairs with his legs slightly open and grabbing to the stairs rails on both of his sides.

“What’s wrong?” His mom asked getting next to him.

Danny seemed to be putting a lot of strength into his arms as if trying to lift himself up a bit. He started shaking his head. “Mom, help me! I can’t move.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You weren't expecting an update, were you? Well, my test days are over! I will finally get my license to work in my country and I am free!!! That's why there's an update and there will be one every week from now on.  
> Danny is getting ready for the baby and Roy, as you saw here, also wants to be as involved as possible in every part of the process. Poor Danny is having such a rough time with the pregnancy. But he'll pull through. He always does, doesn't he?


	23. It Only Gets Harder

“What do you mean you can’t move?” Bonnie said to him.

“If I give one more step, it feels like my legs will rip apart. I can’t move!” Danny’s eyes were mostly closed as he tried to concentrate to endure the pain. 

“Can you step down?” Roy said very gently to him. 

“Let me just try to do it really slowly. Can you help me?” Danny said.

Roy immediately grabbed one of Danny’s arms and put it across his shoulder while his other hand was on the back of his waist. With Roy’s help Danny was able to climb down the stairs backwards. Roy could tell just by looking at Danny’s face how painful each step was for him. He had his eyes closed and a deep frown on his face. Once on the first floor Roy helped him get to the nearest sofa. Danny crouched very slowly so that he was able to sit down trying to make the action as painless as possible. Once he sat down, with Roy’s help he put his legs on the sofa. His mom placed a couple of cushions where he was going to lay down so he could be more comfortable.

As Danny laid down, his expression softened. He then sighed. “It feels so much better already.”

“What happened?” Roy asked concerned.

“I have no idea. But just by laying down, the pain went down so much.”

“Since when has it been hurting?” Roy asked him.

“It’s been hurting since last week but today right after we went shopping it started getting worse.”

“You should have told me.” Roy said feeling bad for him.

“I was going to! But I thought it was getting worse just because I was walking. I thought it was a normal pregnancy thing. When we were leaving the restaurant, that’s when it started hurting a lot. And now at the stairs, I swear I have never gone through something like this before. I couldn’t lift my feet up. It felt as if my legs would really rip apart.”

“I think I know what’s wrong.” Bonnie said very confident. “You need ice and a support belt.”

Roy and Danny looked at her puzzled. 

Bonnie then approached Danny and placed her hand right below his belly. As soon as she put slight pressure on Danny’s pubic bones he flinched and screamed. “Oww! Why would you do that? It hurts!” 

“Yup!” She nodded. “I had that with two of my pregnancies. I don’t remember what it’s exactly called but it has to do with your hip bones separating more than what they are supposed to, that’s why it hurts.”

“Is it normal? Should we go to the doctor now?” Roy asked her concerned.

“His doctor’s appointment is tomorrow. I remember was told to just put some ice on it and get a support belt to help out with the baby weight. Did you get one of those at the store?”

Danny and Roy looked at each other then at Bonnie and shook their heads. 

“I’m gonna go get one.” Roy said as he grabbed his phone and went towards the door. “I’ll be right back.” 

“Thanks” Danny said as he saw him leave the house.

Bonnie went to get some ice for Danny, once back she placed it below his belly. “He’s so nice.”

“I know.” Danny sighed feeling how the cold helped relax his muscles. “I feel bad mom. He’s doing so much for me, what if the baby isn’t his?”

“He knows that’s a possibility. I honestly don’t think he’s only doing it for the baby.”

Danny shook his head. “Mom, the bill today in the baby store was more than a thousand dollars and he paid it all.”

Bonnie gasped and widened her eyes. “What? Why did you let him? Didn’t he also pay the bill for last ultrasound?”

Danny nodded. “Yes. I was getting my card out, next thing I know he had paid for all of it.”

Bonnie covered her mouth but after a few seconds she then shrugged her shoulders. “Well, it’s his money. He can choose to spend it however he wants.”

Danny widened his eyes. “That’s what he said!”

“It’s true though. I guess he cares about you. I’ll bring you some tylenol.”

Danny was very conscious of everything Roy was doing for him. He had paid a very expensive bill and also the week prior he had paid for the high definition ultrasound. It didn’t feel right to Danny. He only hoped when the baby was born, his feelings wouldn’t get hurt. 

On the way to the baby store Roy got very worried for Danny so he decided to call his doctor. He told her what happened and she recommended he put some ice where it hurt and that he wore a support belt so that it could help him ease the pressure on his pubic bone. Right exactly what Bonnie had said. He was also told to give him some tylenol and if the pain persisted or became worse, to come immediately to the ER.

He got the support belt and a bottle of tylenol and went back to his house. Danny was right where he left him with a bucket of ice next to him. 

“Did you find it?” Danny asked looking at him eagerly.

“Yes. I hope it’s your size because the other ones seemed way too big.” Roy said as he took the belt from the box.

Roy helped Danny up slowly and carefully, then his mom helped him put the support belt on. Immediately Danny closed his eyes relaxed and sighed from the relief the support belt brought him. “Oh my god. It feels so good.” He placed his hands on the back of his waist and bent slightly backwards. “I’m in heaven. Why the fuck didn’t I get this before?” He stretched and then took a few steps forward. He loved the sensation the belt had on his pelvis. “This thing is amazing, it actually feels as if someone is holding my belly up for me. And my back also feels a lot better. Thank you so much.” Danny said as he slowly went towards Roy and hugged him. “You are my savior.”

“You’re welcome.” Roy smiled to Danny. 

Danny was now able to carefully go upstairs to his room. Roy went right next to him just in case. Once he got there safely, he had a good sleep afterwards. It had been a long day. 

The following day Danny went to his doctor’s appointment.

She examined him and diagnosed him Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction which in simple terms meant that the joint between his pelvic bones was separating more than what it was supposed to due to the changes in Danny’s body and the pressure from the baby, causing the pain. He was informed that if it got worse he would need to be put on opioid medication and he would need crutches. The sound of that scared him. Thankfully the doctor also mentioned that the symptoms would likely be gone after the baby was born. Since the pain had subsided considerably with the support belt and the medication, Danny figured he would just endure it. He had less than two months to go and the pain was not that bad anymore. Only if it got worse than what happened that time in the stairs, then he would immediately head to the emergency room. 

The following week the pain decreased considerably thanks to the support belt. Danny wore it at all times, even while he slept. It was now mid November and the weather was getting slightly chilly during the night. Danny loved cold weather, he loved wearing huge faux fur hats and coats. He loved feeling comfy. But sadly, to his dismay, lately nothing made him comfortable.

Long gone were the days when the baby only moved the most while he was awake. He was so surprised at how much the baby's movements and her strength had increased lately. She moved at random moments during the day and also during the night. Her movements were so frequent, he had been having trouble going to sleep. Whenever he felt he was about to fall sleep, suddenly he felt the baby stir inside of him keeping him awake. That plus the constant pressure on his bladder that made him go to the bathroom at least twice every night. It had gotten very difficult for Danny. 

Since Roy was over at Danny’s house every day, Bonnie and him took turns to accompany Danny. After the scare they went through almost a month ago, none of them felt comfortable leaving him in the house alone. Danny reassured them he was fine on his own, but nothing he said would change their minds.  Most of the time they watched movies, played games or listened to music. Once in a while Bonnie and Roy would open a bottle of wine and then just talk about life. Danny would watch them and laugh at their interaction. Other times when Roy felt like it, he  would cook nutritious vegan food for Danny while they talked about random things such as latest fashion trends that had caught Roy’s attention, new artists Danny had listened to and also talk about what the other queens were up to.

They were watching a movie in the living room with Bonnie. Danny had now appropriated the largest sofa in the house. Most of the time he was either on his bed or in that specific sofa in the living room. He laid on his left side, all covered up by a thin blanket. 

Roy looked at him and couldn’t help feeling bad for him. Danny always looked tired these past couple of days and it was so unlike him. He was the most energetic and playful person he knew. To think he was doing this for his child, the amount of respect he had for him had significantly increased. Especially when he looked down to his midsection. Sometimes he could see Danny’s belly actually moving which always brought a smile to his face. 

“Bonnie look at his belly!” Roy called her still with his eyes on Danny’s belly. 

“Yeah! She’s having a party in there!” Bonnie said letting out a loud laugh.

Danny sighed, looked down, took the blanket off him and lifted his shirt up uncovering his big pregnant belly. “She’s like this all day.” He said tiredly. “I swear I don’t know how people do this more than once.”

“You’ll know when you see her.” His mom said. 

They kept staring at his belly since they were able to see some of her movements very clearly through his skin.

“Look at that!” Bonnie said excited as she watched how the baby moved either her foot or her arm across Danny’s belly. “Wow! She’s gonna smack all the bullies like her momma.”

“And her grandma.” Danny added making Roy laugh. 

Roy’s phone rang and vibrated several times. It had been doing so very frequently throughout the day.

Danny noticed. “What’s up girl? Who’s been calling you so much?” He said pulling his shirt down and covering himself again.

Roy then realized he had forgotten to tell them something very important. “Oh my god, I can’t believe it. I forgot to tell you.”

Bonnie and Danny looked at him puzzled.

“I have the official dates for my shows in Europe.” Roy said.

“Oh that’s great!” Both Danny and his mom were very happy for him.

“I have to be in London in three days.” Roy said very calmly putting his phone down.

“What?” Danny knew if he had to be in London in three days then he would have to leave pretty much right then. “When’s your flight?”

“Tomorrow morning.” Roy said it as if it was no big deal.

“Oh my god what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your flight, packing or making sure everything will be okay for your shows?” Danny said concerned.

“I already did. I packed my bags this morning with everything I need for a week of shows there. The crew and the teams in charge of the venues are the same people that have organized my shows before. They are amazing at what they do. I know they will have everything set up and running by the time I get there.I’ll only do five shows in five different cities and then I’ll come back for my last show in LA.”

“I can’t believe you’ve finished your residency here already.” Bonnie said.

“I know. Four months went by so fast.” Roy said taking a sip of his glass of wine.

“Yeah.” Danny was also surprised at how fast time had passed. He wondered if it also felt that way because of all the things that had happened during that time, which were certainly very big life events. “Have you thought what are you gonna do afterwards?”

“Well I have options.” Roy sighed. “It all depends though. I might stay here in LA or I might go back to New York. I don’t know yet.”

“Why? What is it?” Danny asked curious.

Bonnie then facepalmed herself and shook her head. The answer to his question was an obvious answer, she felt a bit embarrassed that her son didn’t get it.

Roy didn’t mind the question though. “Well… If the baby is mine, I will stay here with you. But if not, then I will stay here to help you out for a few days but then I might consider going to New York. I’ve discussed some projects I’d like to be part of with some queens and also some producers there. It all depends, you know.” He said and then finished the wine that was left in his glass in one sip.

Danny got it and immediately regretted asking such question. “Oh…”

Roy then grabbed his phone once again and looked at the time. “Maybe you are right, I have to go. But I’ll drop by tomorrow morning to say bye.”

“Alright.” Bonnie said. “We’ll miss you.” She had already gotten used to his presence in the house. He was good company.

“I’ll miss you too.” He said looking back at her.

“Will you miss me too?” Danny asked smiling.

Roy raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes at him. He then looked at him from head to toe and shook his head. “I don’t know about that.” 

Danny and Bonnie bursted out laughing.

“Bitch!” Danny yelled at him.

“Bye!” Roy said still laughing and then left the house.

Some time after he left, his mom remembered he had to go to a friend’s house to help her do her roots. She had completely forgotten about it and she didn’t mention it to Roy either.

“Danny I forgot, I have go to Maria’s house to help her with her hair. I’ll call Jhon to see if he can come over and be with you for a while.”

Danny frowned. “Mom you’re not gonna call him so just he can stay here for like half an hour you’ll be gone.” He rolled his eyes. “You can just go mom. It’s just half an hour, I’ll be okay.”

For some reason Bonnie seemed very hesitant. But then she reminded herself she would only be gone half an hour to forty five minutes and she was not going that far. “Alright” Bonnie then grabbed her purse, keys and phone and headed towards the door. “If anything happens call me right away, okay?”

“Yes, mom.” He said rolling his eyes.

“Okay, I’ll be right back. See ya!” His mom closed the door behind her.

Danny sighed. He was so bored. 

His only past times were eating, TV and social media. He still posted pictures in his instagram but only from his torso up. He had made the decision to no not share his pregnancy publicly. He wanted to have the entire experience for himself and his close family rather than having it being a topic of discussion among strangers. Besides he didn’t know how would people react to it. Either way, he didn’t want any type of negative comments or any comments at all for that matter regarding his condition and his daughter. When the time came he would only introduce her as his daughter and that would be it.

A couple of minutes passed since his mom had left. He was still lying on the sofa when he heard the doorbell ring. He thought it was a bit odd since he wasn’t expecting visitors. His cousins would text him first whenever they came and his mom had just left and she had the keys. He quickly checked his phone to see if maybe he had missed a text.

The doorbell rang again.  He carefully stood up from the sofa and walked to the door still thinking of who could it be.  When he opened the door, he saw the last person on earth he ever expected to see on his doorstep.  

It was Mike. Roy’s ex-boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup! Enough baby talk. Let's get back to the intense parts!  
> We have all seen Danny and Roy's process of dealing with the news of the baby. But we shouldn't forget that someone else got hurt in the process as well. Mike hasn't talked to Roy for almost a month now. His conversation with Danny will be relevant and also, how will Roy react to this?  
> I'm enjoying my freedom so much. A chapter a week, for my two stories... I feel so accomplished. I now have an outline of the following chapters and there's not that many chapters left guys. I hope you are enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it.  
> Hope you have an amazing week!


	24. Resentment

He was the last person on earth he expected to find on his doorstep. 

His eyes went so wide and his jaw dropped to the ground. For a minute he thought time had stopped. What was he supposed to do with him? He had absolutely no idea. 

What did he want? Should he let him in? What were his intentions by going to his house? What did he want to do with him? Did he want to knock him to the ground for getting in the middle of his relationship? He wouldn’t dare, would he? And to make matters worse, he was alone at home. 

The one half-an-hour he thought he would be okay, this guy shows up out of nowhere. 

He didn’t know what to say to him. He only knew he had to apologize to him at some point in his life but nothing else. He had nothing more concrete regarding that issue. He didn’t think he would meet him, at least not in the near future.

A thousand things went through his mind in a millisecond.

“Hello Danny.”

Danny shook his head getting back to his senses. He had only opened the door, he hadn’t said anything to him. “Hey, Mike. Hi.” He tried to sound calm but he failed that attempt miserably as his face showed shock and bewilderment. “Are you looking for Roy? He was here just a while ago, he’s probably at home now.”

“Oh, was he?” Mike said raising his eyebrows and avoiding his eyes, uncomfortable by Danny’s comment. 

“Yeah.” He nodded.

Mike cleared his throat. “Well actually…" He looked back at Danny's eyes. "Do you have a couple of minutes? I was hoping I could to talk to you.”

Danny widened his eyes and pointed at his own chest. For a second he thought maybe he had heard wrong. “Me?”

Mike nodded. “Yeah.”

Danny blinked a couple of times. “Yeah… sure.”

Mike noticed Danny’s surprise. “Do you want to go somewhere close by where we can talk?” He suggested pointing towards his car.

Danny was still wearing pajamas and he was not in the mood to go out so he figured he might as well let him in. “Uhm… no, it’s okay. Why don’t you come in?” He opened the door letting Mike in.  He extended his arm showing him the living room and invited him inside. “Have a seat. Do you want anything to drink?” Danny offered.

Mike sat down on one of the sofas. “No thanks. I’m fine.”

“Alright.” Danny went to his sofa and sat down, laying back as comfortably as possible. They were both sitting in different sofas but right at the corners so they were not that far from each other. They stared at each other's eyes silently for what it seemed like an eternity when in reality it had been a mere couple of seconds.

Mike then cleared his throat and was the first to speak. “You are probable thinking what am I doing here.”

Danny knew he was right. “Well yeah… Don’t take me wrong but I thought I would be the last person on the face of the earth you would ever want to see.” Danny was very straightforward. 

“At first yeah.” Mike looked at him straight in the eyes and nodded. “But now not so much.”

Just by listening to Mike’s tone, Danny perceived this was not going to be a pleasant conversation. He would definitely try to be as sympathetic as possible since this was the man Roy was still in love with. They had both hurt him. The least he deserved was an explanation and an apology from his part. 

Meanwhile Danny could feel Mike staring at him from head to toe. He then fixed his eyes to his middle section. 

“How are you? How’s the baby?”

“We are doing good, thank you.” He remained stern as he rubbed a side of his belly. He hadn't eaten anything in a coupe of hours so she was not moving much.

“When is the baby due?”

“She’s due next month.”

"It's a girl. Congratulations." Mike let out a forced smile.

"Thank you." Danny said politely.

“You must be so nervous.” Mike said, sounding monotone as if he was reading a script.

“Yeah, but mostly excited.” Danny was not a patient person. He could tell Mike was only making small talk and wasn't telling him what he was there for.  He was getting tired of the situation so he just went ahead and spoke his mind. “Look, before we go on, I really need to apologize to you.” Mike widened his eyes and raised his eyebrows. “What happened that night between Roy and I, we were both completely drunk. I actually don’t remember anything that happened or how it happened. I just remember waking up the next morning and him laying next to me. Had I been in my right mind I would have never had sex with him. I’m so sorry for everything that it caused between you two. Roy really loves you, he really does.”

Mike seemed to be taken aback by Danny’s sudden apology. After he finished speaking, Mike looked away for a second and sighed. “Does he? Huh?…”

They stayed silent for a minute,  Mike still avoiding eye contact with Danny. “It’s been rough you know.” Mike said and finally turned to see Danny, his eyes were now shimmering with tears.

Danny he was not expecting him to get emotional like that. It made him feel bad for him but he couldn’t give in to those feelings of guilt. He didn’t know what Mike’s intentions were by visiting him. He needed to keep a clear mind to carry on the conversation.

“We had been going out for like two years, I thought everything was going so well between us. I thought he was going to propose anytime soon.” Mike said letting out a sob.

Danny felt thought he felt pressure on his chest, the feeling of guilt he hadn’t felt in a while was starting to come back. He  closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I really am.” 

Even though Danny felt bad for Mike, he had already come to terms with the situation. Countless times he had cried over the guilt he felt every time he thought about what happened and how it brought Roy’s relationship to an end. But after talking to his mom and most importantly Roy, he was able to wrap his mind around the fact that it had not been his fault entirely. Also that whenever the time came to face Mike, he would apologize to him and he would do it wholeheartedly. “I know I should have been the one to go and look for you first to apologize but I didn’t know how you were coping with everything. I didn’t want to go look for you not knowing if you wanted to see me or not.”

Mike nodded as he wiped off his tears with a tissue. “It’s okay, I get that.” He let out a small laugh as he said so, trying to pretend it didn’t affect him when it clearly did. “I guess it’s still fresh for me. It's hard to talk about it.”  He let out another laugh as wiped his tears with both hands. “Anyway.” He shook his head. “I accept your apology. There’s nothing that can be done to undo the damage. It is what it is.” In a second, Mike's expression immediately changed from sad and devastated to serious and upset. “Like I said before, the main reason why I’m here is to talk to you. Particularly about Roy.”

Danny was a bit puzzled about Mike’s sudden change in attitude. In a second he went from crying to being serious and inquisitive. “Okay…” He nodded focusing his eyes on Mike. 

“What’s your relationship with Roy?”

Danny shook his head. “We are just good friends. That’s it.”

Mike’s eyes went from Danny’s face to his belly and then back to his face. “And how will the baby change this?”

Danny frowned. “She won’t change anything. If he is her dad then we will coparent. He’ll be as involved as he wants to. But if you wanna know if we are a couple and if we are romantically involved, I can assure you the answer is no. We are not together whatsoever. We are only friends.”

Mike rolled his eyes. It didn’t go unnoticed by Danny who was now starting to think Mike’s intentions were other than just asking him about Roy. 

“You really think the baby won’t change that?”

“Yes, we have talked about it. That won’t change.” Danny was now perplexed, Mike was giving him an attitude. He had already answered that question before. The only reason he was trying to be patient with him was because it was Mike, he was important to Roy. “Shouldn’t you be asking Roy all these questions?”

Mike smiled. “The thing is…” He crossed his legs and intertwined his fingers resting his hands on his lap. “I’m trying to decide whether I should give our relationship another chance.”

Danny raised his eyebrows surprised. He was not expecting to hear that from him. It’s what Roy wanted. Roy wanted to get back with Mike.

Mike continued. “I know Roy. He texts me and calls me every night even though I don’t answer his calls. He wants us to get together again.”

Danny thought at some point Roy had stopped contacting Mike. He didn’t know he was still trying to contact him.

“If I answer him, he’s going to tell me everything that I want to hear. He’s gonna say that it’ll work out and that everything is gonna be okay. But I know that’s not the case.”

It all was sounding very odd for Danny, he was not sure where the conversation was going. 

“Danny, you are telling me that if the baby is Roy’s then you will let him be a part of the baby’s life as much as he wants to, right?”

“Yes, absolutely. This would be his child.”

“Has he ever told you he has thought about becoming a parent at some point?”

Danny nodded. “Yes, he mentioned it once I think.”

“Have you considered he might want to raise your baby on his own?”

Danny immediately made a face of disgust. “What?” Danny knew Roy wouldn’t dare. Why was Mike telling him all this? “He’d never take my child away from me. Why are you saying these things? Why are you doing this?” Danny pulled himself back to sit straighter on the sofa. 

“The thing is... I’ve already made up my mind.” Mike said grinning. “I’m not willing to get back with Roy if he ends up being the father of your baby.” Mike sounded firm and determined.

Danny couldn’t believe his ears. Was this the person Roy really loved? He was very confused. “Wow.” Danny hadn’t realized he had said that out loud, but at this point in their conversation he didn’t care anymore. “He loves you.”

“I know. But a child is a lifetime commitment. I’m not signing up for that. I’ve never wanted children of my own. Much less will I accept children from a partner.”

Danny closed his eyes trying to understand his point of view. “Again! Shouldn’t you be telling this to Roy? Besides, I don’t know who the father of my baby is! There’s two other possible baby daddies out there. If Roy isn’t the father then it’s more than likely he will go back to you!” Danny had had it. “Why the fuck am I even explaining myself to you?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.” Mike turned his face sideways letting out a smirk. “Guilt… maybe?” Mike’s look was full of hate and resentment.

“Okay.” Danny pushed himself towards the edge of the sofa, stood up and looked down on him. “I think you should go.”

“I guess I should. The last thing I wanna do is get you upset. Not good for the baby, huh?” Mike stood up and gave a step forward towards Danny. Their faces were inches away from each other.

Danny looked away, huffed and rolled his eyes. “What’s your problem?”

“You are my problem Danny.” Mike was so upset. “Had you not had sex with my boyfriend we would still be together! Why did you have to come between us?” He didn’t raise his voice at him, but his tone sounded so hateful.

“I already said I was sorry! I can’t do nothing more! What else do you want me to do?” Danny was so fed up at this point.

“Tell Roy that child is not his. Even if it is.”

Danny gasped, he could not believe it. He shook his head and placed a hand his belly protectively out of instinct. Right then his baby had starting kicking frenetically. He was talking to a psychopath. “I can’t do that.”

“Make it right Danny. He’ll take your kid from you.”

“What the fuck?” Danny could almost feel himself getting nauseated from looking and listening to Mike. “You know what? If you came all the way here just to tell me that, you are only wasting your time! Get out of my house!” Danny yelled at him as he went towards the door, opened it entirely and stood right next to it inviting him to leave.

Mike took his time to walk towards the door. “I know you’ll make it right.” He said as he slowly walked through the threshold of the door.

“Get the fuck out!” Danny screamed to him slamming the door as soon as Mike was out.

Danny could not believe what had just happened. He placed both hands on his head and started pacing around the living room. “Fuck!”  The guy was crazy. To have the guts to tell those things to Danny inside his own house. What was he thinking?  Danny needed to tell Roy what had just happened. He went to grab his phone from the sofa and noticed he had received a text from him. When he opened it, he saw Roy had sent him the publicity for his tour in Europe. 

The text read, ‘Here are the dates and the cities I will be in.’ 

Danny rolled his eyes. For a minute he had forgotten that Roy was leaving the following day on tour to Europe. He placed one of his hands to his forehead shaking his head. “Fuck!”

He couldn’t tell Roy.

He was about to go on tour. What had just happened with Mike would only worry him. It would definitely shake him. More so when he still had feelings for him. He couldn’t help wondering how could someone so kind like Roy could had been in a relationship with someone like Mike.  He couldn’t tell him. He wasn’t sure if Roy would be capable of cancelling his tour to due to this. Danny knew he was very professional, he wouldn't cancel it but it would definitely worry him. Roy had to perform, he had to do those shows in Europe. He couldn’t tell him.

As he thought about these things he heard the front door open. Danny flinched and slowly and wary went to it to see who it was.

It was his mom. 

“Oh my god, mom it’s you.” He placed a hand on his chest and sighed relieved.

“Of course it’s me. Was someone else coming?” She said as she went inside the house and closed the door behind her.

“You are not going to believe who was just here a while ago.” Danny had his eyes wide open.

“Whom?”

“Roy’s ex-boyfriend, Mike.”

“What?” Bonnie was shocked to hear that. “Did you let him in?”

Danny nodded.

“What?! What were you thinking you idiot? What if he did something to you!?”

Danny just smiled. “You're right. I don’t know what I was thinking…”

“I’m gonna call Roy.” Bonnie said taking out her phone.

Danny looked at her shocked and approached her. “What? Mom! No!” He stood right in front of her. “Mom! Stop!” 

Bonnie looked at his soon as if he was crazy.  “He needs to know!” She hung up but still had the phone on her hand.

“I’ll tell him…” Danny widened his eyes at her. “When the time is right.”

Bonnie’s jaw dropped and then she rolled her eyes shaking her head. “You don’t learn, do you?” 

Danny closed his eyes and sighed. “I’ll tell him when he comes back from his tour.” Danny said as he made his way to the kitchen.

His mom followed him. “Why?” She said annoyed.

Danny pulled one of the kitchen chairs and took a seat. “He still loves Mike.” Danny sighed. “Even if he is a dick.” He buried his face between his hands as he rested his elbows on the table. 

“What did he say?” She placed her phone on the kitchen table and sat down next to him.

“After asking several times what my relationship with Roy was, he said he wouldn’t get back with him if the baby was his. He also told me that if the baby is in fact Roy’s, Roy will take it away from me. And! If that hadn't been enough! He clearly told me to tell Roy she’s not his kid even if she is, if I wanted them to get back together.”

“What the fuck?” Bonnie was now so mad. She grabbed her phone. “I’m calling him.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “No! Mom!” 

“That bitch is not gonna come into my house and start threatening my family.”

“And what’s Roy gonna do about it? Mom! He has this amazing opportunity, he’s going to Europe for his last shows! He still has feelings for him. This is gonna shake him, I don’t want him to leave concerned about all this. I honestly don’t think this bitch is gonna come back anyway. I kicked her out.” Danny let out a small laugh.

Bonnie sighed. “It’s not the first time I say this, it doesn’t sound like a good idea to me. This guy could have done something to you! I don’t know Danny.” She shook her head. “It’s your call.” She stood up and right as she crossed the kitchen’s door she turned around and pointed her finger towards Danny. “You’re not staying on your own again until the baby comes.”

Danny looked at her sighing thoughtfully, he raised his eyebrows and nodded understanding. “I'm down for that now.”  He hadn’t fully thought about what could have happened when he let Mike into his house. He should have. His mom was right, it could have gone very wrong. He placed a soothing hand right below his ribs where he felt the baby kicking and looked down.  He needed to start making better choices.

The following morning Roy came very early to say bye to Bonnie and Danny. He was going away for a week.

“Have a safe trip darling.” Bonnie hugged him.

“I will. Thank you!” He said returning the hug with a wide smile. “I won’t drink too much. I promise.” He said winking towards Danny who was sitting on the sofa staring back at him thoughtful. Roy thought it was a bit odd that Danny didn’t find his obvious sarcasm funny. He broke the hug giving one last smile to Bonnie and then approached Danny. 

“Hey, what’s up?” Roy first frowned but then showed him a smile.

“Nothing.” Danny shrugged his shoulders. "I’m just— a little bit lightheaded, that’s all.” Danny said trying to avoid Roy's gaze.

Roy noticed and narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously. “You are hiding something from me.”

“What? No.” Danny widened his eyes and shook his head. He was so transparent.

Roy could tell Danny had something on his mind. " Don’t lie to me. You are acting weird.”

Danny laughed somewhat nervously. “I’m not hiding anything.” He felt so bad to have to lie to him again when he had promised not to. But he knew this one was for his own good.  “I’m— I’m just gonna miss you. That’s all.” He couldn’t come up with anything else. “Come back soon okay?” He spread his arms from the sofa so he could hug his friend bye. 

Roy leaned down and hugged him. “Take care, okay? I’ll be back in a week.” When Roy broke the hug Danny’s arms were still spread towards him. Roy pulled him up to a stand and o nce he was up, Danny still held onto one of his hands. “I wanna go with you.”

Roy frowned. “Where? To the door?” He said laughing.

“Yes.” Danny said and then bursted out laughing as well.

Once they reached the doorway holding hands, Roy then placed both hands on the sides of Danny’s belly as he leaned forward. Danny was wearing a plaid navy blue flannel shirt so it felt soft and warm. “And you baby girl don’t get too excited. You have to wait for me! Don’t come out yet!” He said as he felt the baby moving below his palms. 

Danny also started to fell the baby’s first movements of the day. “Oh! This little dinosaur is awake.” He said placing his hands on his back relieving the slight discomfort the baby’s movements caused now

Roy had spent almost everyday with Danny lately so he had got to feel the baby move all the time. Roy loved it, he felt so comforted by it. “Don’t make your mommy too miserable in there honey.” 

Danny laughed and smiled. Roy then gave a quick last hug and a kiss on the cheek to Danny and got on his car. Danny leaned on the door frame staring at the car as Roy pulled out of the driveway. 

He didn't feel good.  He wasn’t sure if he had done the right thing by not telling him Mike had come to see him. It was too late now. He would tell him when he got back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is in honor of Danny’s thirtieth birthday. He's definitely come a long way. Hope he had an amazing time with his loved ones and that he may always have good health.  
> In this chapter we see Mike after a while and he appears to be very affected by everything that happened. He's only thinking about himself right now which clearly indicates how distressed he really is.  
> Even tough Danny had a horrible time dealing with him, he has made the choice to not tell Roy about his visit. Danny is now in a similar situation he was some months ago, hiding something from Roy. Has Danny made the right decision to not tell Roy about Mike? At least for now?  
> I honestly don't know either. This chapter was not part of the story until a couple of days ago. Originally it was just about more baby related stuff. I think I like it more this way. I love cliffhangers.  
> As always thank you so much for the feedback! Hope you have an amazing week!  
> Next chapter will be out sometime during the weekend.


	25. You Are So Impulsive

During the week that followed Danny received daily messages from Roy, telling him how he was doing and also how his shows had gone. 

Danny still spent all day sitting either in the sofa or his bed. He couldn’t stand up for long periods of time because he felt so much pain below, right in the middle of his pelvis. His doctor said on his 35th-week check up that the pain was mostly due to his pubic symphysis diastasis but also to other multiple factors such as the weight of the baby, the amniotic fluid and the placenta. She said everything was looking really good with both of them and that after the next two weeks they would be on baby watch since she could come at any point after he reached 37 weeks. Danny was more than ready to be over with the pregnancy and have his baby in his arms. The thought of having her was so exciting and at the same time so nerve wracking for him. He had to remind himself daily that the longer she stayed in, the safer for the baby. 

Roy was finally over with his shows in Europe and had just landed in LA. He had left his car at the airport so he got in it and headed straight to Danny’s house. He called him telling him he was on his way and asked him if he wanted to go out somewhere to eat. Danny had been at home so much lately, he thought he could use some fresh air so he gladly agreed to his invitation. 

Danny knew he had to tell him about Mike as soon as possible. He had promised to never hide anything from him again and he couldn’t wait any longer. Roy got to Danny’s house, picked him up and took him to a restaurant not so far from his house.

Roy ordered a salad while Danny ordered spicy vegan quesadillas.  Danny was eating and also listening to Roy talk about his anecdotes during his trip. He was starting to feel bad because he wasn’t really paying him much attention at all. He was mostly worried about how would he react to the news that Mike had visited him. He had to tell him, right now.

“Hey.” Danny interrupted him. “Before you go on there’s something really important you have to know and you’re not gonna like it.”

Roy was a bit taken aback, he had been so caught up telling Danny about his trip that he frowned curious at the intermission but he still smiled. “What? Why? What is it?”

“I talked to Mike.” Danny said very straightforward.

Roy’s expression changed in less than a second. His jaw dropped and his face showed utter shock. “What? When?!”

“He came to visit me they day before you left to the UK.” 

“What?” Roy frowned dead serious. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m sorry! I wanted to tell you when you got back. I didn’t want to upset you before your trip.” Danny hoped he wouldn’t get mad at him.

Roy didn’t look that upset at Danny's unexpected revelation, rather he was more curious as to what Mike had told him. “What did he say?”

Danny sighed. “Oh my god. Where do I even start?” He said rolling his eyes and then setting them on Roy’s face as he laid back on his seat getting comfortable.

Roy looked anxious and at the same time eager to hear what Danny had to say.

Danny shook his head and sighed one more time. “He came that day after you left. I was alone at home, my mom had to go to a friend’s house to do her roots. She was gonna be back in like half an hour and during that time he showed up. I let him in, we sat down in the living room and talked.”

Roy was listening, paying full attention to Danny’s every word. 

“He first asked me about the baby. We were talking, but honestly in my mind all I could think of was that I needed to apologize, so I said I was sorry for everything that happened and what it did to your relationship. He accepted my apology but he still seemed mad, and that’s when shit got real.”

Roy’s expression showed worry and bewilderment. “Everything sounds okay so far. What do you mean?”

“He started asking me what our relationship was. I told him we were friends and that the baby wouldn’t change that. But he kept asking if I was sure the baby wouldn’t change that and I kept saying no, that we would be just friends and only that.” Danny then narrowed his eyes and nodded. “I had this feeling there was something else going on. I asked him why was he asking me all these questions and he said—” Danny stopped abruptly as he remembered what Mike had said. He knew it might upset Roy but he had to know the truth. “He said he was trying to decide if he wanted to get back with you or not.” Danny spoke as carefully and empathetically as he could. “He said if you are the baby’s father, then he doesn’t want anything to do with you.”

Roy froze, his mouth was slightly open from the impression. Even though his eyes were wide open his sight looked lost in disbelief. He closed his eyes for a while, shook his head and opened them again. He placed both palms on the table and sat on the edge of his seat. “Are you sure he said that?”

Danny nodded. “Yes! Then he started telling me that it was all my fault that your relationship was over. At this point I just told him to leave. I was not gonna let him disrespect me in my own house.”

Roy closed his eyes and when he opened them back he was very angry. “That motherfucker.”  He shook his head. “I need to talk to him.” He grabbed his phone. “His problem is with me! Why the fuck did he come to you?” He said looking deep into Danny’s eyes, he was so mad.  Roy shook his head. “I gotta go and talk to him.”

Danny was surprised about Roy’s sudden statement. “Where? To New York?”

“Yeah!” Roy nodded tapping the screen on his phone, he sounded very exalted.

“When?” Danny didn’t know what to expect for an answer now.

“I don’t know.” Roy shook his head bothered as he continued typing something on it. “Tomorrow maybe? I really didn’t think he would get in touch with you. I thought you would be the last person on earth he would want to see.”

“Me too.” Danny could see Roy was very annoyed at what had happened. Roy looked at Danny for a second and put his phone down, still staring at the younger man’s eyes. “I’m really sorry you had to put up with that shit Danny. I didn’t know he would do that.”

“It’s okay.” Danny said pulling himself backwards trying to find a more comfortable position. “I know he’s upset but that doesn’t mean he has to come and speak shit in my own house.”

“I’m sorry.” Roy said looking ashamed. He then grabbed his phone again and continued tapping on the screen while Danny grabbed his drink and took a sip. “Alright. I’m going to New York tomorrow.” 

Danny coughed almost choking on his drink. “What?”

Roy only nodded.

“Are you seriously gonna go there?” Danny was so startled.

Roy kept nodding. “Yup. I already booked it. My flight leaves tomorrow night.”

“What the fuck? Are you sure you want to see Mike right now? You look like you are about to kill someone.” Danny said giving him a disapproving stare.

“Yeah. I’d rather have this settled with him now rather than later.” Roy continued staring at his phone, opening the confirmation email and checking his bank app to see the transaction he had just made. 

Meanwhile Danny sighed, leaned back on his seat and looked at the view behind Roy. They had got a table with a breathtaking view. It was almost sunset, so the sky had different tones of orange, pink and blue. 

“Are you hopeful?” Danny said placing a hand on his belly where he had just felt the baby kick. Roy then looked at him straight into his eyes confused. Danny was still admiring the view behind Roy, light hitting straight into his green eyes making them look greener and lighter than what they actually were. “He said if the baby is not yours then you can get back with him.” 

Roy only stared at him wide eyed. Danny’s eyes suddenly settled on Roy's and it was now him the one who couldn’t look at him straight in the eyes and looked away.  “I don’t know what I feel.” Roy sighed hesitant. “I just don’t like the fact that he came into your house and started telling you all those things. He didn’t need to do that. He crossed the line.”

Danny could tell Roy was a bit shaken after finding out what Mike did, he kind of expected for him to get like that. He couldn't blame him. In the end, he was still in love with Mike.

Roy then looked around and raised his hand for a waiter. “I need a drink.”

Danny laughed out loud rolling his eyes. “You are so impulsive. I can’t believe you already booked a flight! What are you even gonna say to him? You don’t even have your feelings in check!” He said shaking his head disapprovingly but still smiling.

“To not do that again. Wait a minute, I can’t drink I gotta drive us home.” Roy said disappointed.

Danny raised his palms towards Roy. “It’s alright! Go ahead! It’s on me! I’ll drive us home, you had a rough day.” 

Roy had his drink as Danny finished his spicy quesadillas. Afterwards Danny drove both of them home. 

Once there, they found Bonnie and Danny’s cousin John watching a movie. Roy brought with him a bottle of wine he had brought from his trip and placed it on the table in front of them. They were all happy and excited to try the wine. Bonnie went to the kitchen to bring some glasses and Danny went along with her.

“So did you talk to him?” She asked him, looking for the glasses.

Danny nodded. “Yeah. He’s gonna talk to him tomorrow. He didn’t like that he came all the way here just to speak shit.”

Bonnie raised her eyebrows. “He looks very cool with everything. What did he say about Mike telling you to tell him the baby wasn’t his? Is he this cool about that too?”

Danny gasped and covered his mouth with one hand as he turned to face his mom. “Oh shit! I don’t think I told him about that.” He looked around trying to remember if he had told him. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t remember, because he hadn’t told him.  “Oh fuck!” Now he didn’t know what to do, he couldn’t mess up again by not telling him. And this was important, he was going to see Mike tomorrow. Just the news of Mike having talked to Danny had upset him so much he had bought a flight right that instant. 

“I’ll tell him tomorrow. He’s flying to New York tomorrow anyway so I’ll drive him to the airport and I’ll tell him then." He turned to face his mom. "That was the one thing that upset me the most I can’t believe I forgot to mention that!” He said as he put his hand on his mouth and started biting his nails. 

Bonnie shook her head. “I don’t know. You decide.”

Danny groaned closing his eyes and facing the ceiling. He would definitely tell him the following day. He followed his mom to the living room with a box of orange juice for him to drink as his mom, John and Roy would drink the wine Roy had brought. As he walked out of the kitchen suddenly with each step, he started feeling pressure right on his pelvis like he hadn’t felt before. He thought it was a bit odd but since it lessened once he sat down on the sofa, he didn’t think anything much of it.

They four of them stayed in the living room until almost midnight. John had been called by some of his close friends to hang out so he decided to leave. Bonnie and Roy were almost finished with the second bottle of wine as they listened to music and talked. The things that Bonnie and Roy contributed to their conversation were always so interesting and most of the times hilarious to hear. Danny enjoyed so much spending time with them. He sporadically put some random objects on his belly and watched the baby’s movements move that particular object making everyone else smile. It was pleasant for him to watch his daughter being part of their get together even though she wasn’t even born yet.

There was one thing that was bothering him though.  He continued to feel pressure on his pelvis. The entire evening, no matter what position he turned to, the feeling was still there. 

“I feel weird.” Danny said standing up from the couch as Bonnie and Roy's eyes turned to him. “I feel like I have a ton of pressure right above here.” He said touching below his belly, on his pubic bone. 

“Is she moving too much?” Bonnie asked him.

“Yeah, she’s moving a lot. But it feels strange, as if I had something pressing inside. I haven’t felt like this before. And even when I walk…” He made a few steps. “It definitely feels like I have, I don’t know if it’s her head, but she is definitely down here.” He touched his pubic bone again.

“Does it hurt?” Roy asked worried.

“No, it doesn’t hurt, it just feels… weird.” Danny said wrinkling his nose.

“Maybe you’re just tired. You went out today.” His mom told him.

Danny placed one hand on the back of his waist and with the other he scratched his head. “Yeah I think that’s it. I’m gonna go to bed. It’s late already.” He said as he walked with both hands on his back.

“Goodnight Danny.” Both Roy and Bonnie said.

Danny went to his room and laid on his bed. He was so uncomfortable, it took him about half an hour to find a good position in which he didn’t feel like he had the baby unpleasantly low. 

Finally then, he fell asleep.

Throughout the night he woke up a couple of times, but he didn’t know exactly what he awoke to. The baby wasn’t particularly moving too much.He only stayed awake for a couple of seconds and afterwards he got back to sleep.

The next morning he woke up to a wave of sharp pain going from his back to his lower belly. Now that he was completely awake he realized what those were. He opened his eyes and frowned until the pain subsided. 

“Stupid braxton hicks.” He said as he slowly sat down on his bed to go to the bathroom. Once there, he used the toilet and when he was brushing his teeth, the same wave of pain he had felt before, struck him again. He grabbed the sink with both hands and leaned on it facing down. One hand pressed the toothbrush hard as he thought that it was so odd the contractions were that close to each other. Usually, Braxton Hicks contractions only happened to him about one every other hour. He tried to dismiss what had just happened since the contraction was short and it had already subsided, so he continued brushing his teeth. 

He then decided to go downstairs. He was hungry. He was happy when he saw Roy and Bonnie setting up the table for breakfast.

“Oh good you’re awake. I was about to go get you, breakfast is ready.” Roy said as he placed the bowls filled with fruit on the table.

“Great! I’m starving! Until what time did you stay up?” Danny approached the table as Roy put the bowls on it. 

“Maybe an hour after you left, not that long.” Roy said as he turned his back on him going back to the kitchen. 

As he listened to Roy speaking, he felt the same sharp contractile pain he felt in his room and in the bathroom. This was the third one in less than 15 minutes. He had never had contractions this close together, except for the time he went into premature labor. But that was not possible. He was 35 weeks and about 3 days along, he couldn’t be going into labor. It was too early so he quickly dismissed the thought.

When Bonnie and Roy brought the food to the table and sat down, the wave of pain was over. 

“I’m so happy you are back, it’s only Danny and I every morning so you can imagine how boring it’s for me sometimes just being stuck with him all day.” Bonnie laughed sarcastically and looked at Danny. 

Danny just nodded and half smiled as he chewed on his fruit. She was expecting him to scream with a reply to the teasing but Danny seemed to be thoughtful staring at his fruit bowl with a frown.

“Danny? What’s up? Why so serious?” His mom asked him.

Danny let go of his fork, looked down and placed both hands on his lower belly. “I don’t know. My belly feels weird. I woke up and I think I’ve had like three or four contractions this morning.”

That’s all it took for Bonnie and Roy to completely lose their appetites, drop the cutlery on their hands and pay their full attention to Danny. 

“And you’re saying this now you asshole?” His mom said now standing and approaching him. Roy who was sitting next to him, placed a hand on Danny’s belly.

Danny was caught by surprise by another wave of pain starting on his lower back. He could feel it going very slowly through his belly towards his pubic bone. “I feel it now.” He said frowning.

“Your belly is getting hard.” Roy said as he pressed his fingers on his belly. He clearly felt how it became really hard causing Danny pain.

All of a sudden Danny flinched immediately feeling the intensity of the pain increasing. It was even more painful than the last contractions he had been feeling before. It made him bend forward, one hand holding on to the table and the other on his lower belly. 

“Owww…” Danny let out a painful moan.

Roy froze completely, he could feel Danny’s belly getting even harder. Once a couple of seconds passed Danny took a deep breath and slightly opened his legs. Bonnie and Roy saw Danny’s pajama pants dark from liquid. Roy then looked down below Danny’s chair and saw a small puddle of clear water below him.

Danny had been so distracted by the pain from the contraction that once it was over, just then he felt himself continuously getting wet. “I think I’m peeing.” He said as he looked between his thighs. That's when realization hit. He had just gone to the bathroom to relieve himself. This was not pee. He widened his eyes and looked at his mom and Roy, completely scared. “Oh my god…” There was so much water coming from him he could feel the surface he was sitting on soaking wet. “Is this what I think it is?!”

Roy and his mom just stood there frozen looking back at Danny. No one was expecting for this to happen at all, they were all completely shocked. 

Bonnie was the first to react, she reached for her son’s now shaking hand and placed her other hand on his shoulder as she leaned on him. Danny turned to see her. Bonnie could see Danny’s shimmering eyes and terrified expression just like when he was little and was caught doing something he was not supposed to. 

“Your water broke!” She screamed excited.

“Oh my God. You’re having a baby!” Roy exclaimed nervously. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay for this chapter. Last chapter and this one were not originally included in the storyline so they took a bit more time to edit, especially this one. 
> 
> The time has finally come to meet Danny's little one. Apparently Roy is gonna have to postpone his trip to the city until after the baby is born. 
> 
> Next chapter should be up either friday or saturday.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	26. Being Brave

“What? No!” Danny completely froze unable to think straight. The expression on his face only screamed fear.

“It’s alright Danny. You’re okay. Your water just broke. We need to get you to the hospital.” Bonnie said rubbing her son's back.

Danny seemed lost. “Mom but I’m 35 weeks, it’s still early!” His voice was shaky, he was stuttering and tears were now streaming down his cheeks.

His mom placed a hand on his cheek wiping off his tears. “I guess she just can’t wait to meet her momma, she’s just as impatient as you are.” She said very happy and excited. Even though she was also worried for her son, she had to remain strong and reassure him that everything was gonna be okay.  She then looked at Roy, who also looked like his soul had left his body. “Roy, why don’t you go with him to his room and help him change into something comfortable?”

Roy nodded rapidly trying get back to his senses. “Yes. We gotta go to the hospital! Let’s go change!” Roy said nervously, trying to remain as calm as he possibly could. “Danny can you stand up?”

Danny took a deep breath and looked at him. “Yeah, god that last one hurt.” He stood up and looked at the seat of the chair. “Oh my god mom is that blood?” He pointed at it shocked. 

Bonnie looked at it and nodded. “Yup, that’s probably the mucus plug, you are not bleeding now are you?”

Danny put his hand inside his pants to his crotch feeling a wet substance. When he pulled it out his fingers were wet with a clear liquid, no sign of blood.

“You are okay, we have to go to the hospital. I’m gonna call your doctor, now go change.” Bonnie grabbed Danny’s phone on the table and called the doctor.

Meanwhile Roy held Danny’s arm as they went to his room. 

“Oh my God, it’s happening.” Danny’s eyes were so wide in surprise. “I can’t believe it’s actually happening.” Danny said smiling.

“I can’t believe it’s happening either! You are having a baby!” Roy said excited.

They got into the room and Danny took everything off from the waist down right away. Meanwhile Roy went to Danny’s drawer and grabbed a loose set of cotton pajamas for him. When he turned around he saw Danny with both arms firm leaning on the top of his desk, slowly swinging his hips from side to side and taking in deep breaths. 

Roy placed the clothes on the bed and went quickly next to him, grabbing his arm. “Are you okay?”

Danny only nodded. His face was slightly scrunched as he breathed in and out.

“It’s okay, just breathe.” Roy caressed Danny’s arm up and down until the contraction ended. 

Once it was over he helped Danny get dressed and by the end of it, another contraction hit. Danny turned to face Roy, placed both arms around his neck and pushed his hips backwards. Once again he swung his hips side to side taking deep breaths until the contraction was over.

“Are they really that bad?” Roy said curious.

Danny broke the hug sighing. “They are bearable, uncomfortable, but definitely more painful than the other time.”

Roy was so proud of how Danny was managing the whole situation. He was breathing like he was taught on the prenatal classes and he could tell he was trying to remain calm. He just hoped he could keep it up until the baby arrived.

“Did you get a hospital bag ready?”

“Fuck! No. I was gonna do that this week.” Danny said worried as he pulled a hand to his mouth and bit his lower lip. 

“That’s okay we can get it ready now.” Roy said as he went to look for the bag trying his best to not panic. Once he got it, he saw it was open and there were things already inside. From his perspective it looked like it had it all. “Hey look! I think it’s ready.” He said showing the open bag to Danny.

Danny looked at it and sighed relieved. “Oh my god my mom’s an angel. Let’s just grab that and go.” Danny said as he left the room. 

Roy grabbed the hospital bag and went after him. Bonnie was already holding a bag of her own as she opened the the door to the driver's seat and went to get the car started. Danny followed her and opened the front door of the car.

Bonnie looked at her son. “Why don’t you go in the back with Roy? It’s gonna be more comfortable.” She advised him.

Danny just went along with what he was being told and got on the back seat, right on time for a contraction to start. “Oh… shit.” He said as he felt it go through him.

“Just breathe through it, we will be there in a couple of minutes.” His mom said.

Danny did as his mom told him, feeling his body contract involuntarily was so strange. It was not like the pain he had felt when he had been rushed to the hospital, it hurt more.

Roy put the hospital bag in the empty front seat next to Bonnie's. Then he went to sit next to Danny and grabbed his hand. “You’re okay, just breathe like you’ve been doing so far.” 

Danny had his eyes closed the entire contraction until it was over, letting out a sigh of relief. “If the pain is going to get worse then I might consider getting drugs for it, or I’m gonna die.”

His mom started laughing. Roy and Danny looked at her surprised. 

“Oh it’s gonna get way more painful Danny.” She said smiling and nodding.

Danny opened his mouth wide and laughed. “Mom that’s the worst thing you can say to me right now!”

“It’s true though!” She said as she got out of the driveway. “I’m going to meet my grandbaby soon!” She chanted excited.

Roy was also excited but he couldn’t help to also feel scared for Danny. He had seen birth videos to prepare for this moment and they were not pretty at all. But he was certain of one thing, getting to see the baby in the end was pure joy. “We are leaving as three and when we get back, there will be four of us in the car.” Roy said.

“Oh my god… four.” Danny said as he let out a smile and pressed circles to the side of his belly. “Damn! We haven’t installed the car seat!”

“I don’t think you should worry about that right now. You are having the baby today, you are not bringing her home today.” Roy said reassuringly.

Once they were on their way to the hospital, it had finally sinked in for Danny what was going on, he was having contractions which eventually he knew would only come to an end only when he gave birth to the baby. 

His baby. He was going to meet his baby girl after all of this. 

After all this time, he had taken care of himself for so many months so he could get to this moment and it was finally here. His life would be forever changed. The time had come to make one last effort to bring her out into the world safely. He never thought something like this would ever happen to him. He only wished he could remain strong and brave enough to go through it. 

They got to the hospital after a fifteen minute ride. 

Bonnie had called Danny’s doctor beforehand so she had a nurse waiting for them with a wheelchair. Danny’s condition was very unique. His pregnancy was classified as high risk, so as a medical team they needed to observe him carefully right after he got out of the car. 

Once in the emergency room, Danny’s doctor was on call so she went to meet them straight away. She took him to a room and hooked him up to a contraction and heartbeat monitor. After Danny told her what had happened at the house, she proceeded to examine him.

“I can’t believe it.” The doctor said as Danny felt her fingers move inside him. “You’re five centimeters dilated. I can’t believe you labored this far along through the night! You are doing amazing!”

“Thanks.” Danny whispered letting out a half smile, happy to hear that he had done good and at the same time holding in the desire to scream at her to take her fingers out because it really hurt.

The doctor went on. “It definitely looks like you are having a baby today!” 

That statement got Danny nervous.  The doctor then took her hand out. “Alright we are going to admit you and I’ll come to check you every two hours. This could take from a couple of hours to even twelve so…" She then  looked at Roy and Bonnie, who Danny had allowed to be there while he was being examined. "We just gotta make sure he is comfortable so he can get through the contractions.”

“Doctor, I’m worried that the baby is coming five weeks early.” Roy said concerned.

“Yes, I have seen his first ultrasound which is the one that matters to calculate the estimated date of birth and he could either be from 34 to 36 weeks. Since he is so far along, his water has already broken and he is having contractions these close together there is nothing we can do now to stop labor. He has already got his steroid shots to help mature the baby’s lungs so the only thing we can do now for the baby is to get a neonatology team ready when she is close to coming out so they can check her right after she’s born. This hospital has a NICU so if anything happens she’s gonna be well taken care of.”

Roy nodded understanding the doctor. “Alright, thank you.”

“Alrighty, a nurse will take you to your room. I will see you in a couple of hours.” The doctor then left.

“Danny you didn’t ask about the epidural.” His mom told him.

“She said I'm doing good. And I’m already half way there so, I’m gonna be tough and brave and I’m going to deal with the pain until I can’t no more. I read somewhere the drugs affect the baby so… nope.” Danny had already used drugs while pregnant when he still didn’t know about his condition so he really wanted to avoid using drugs as much as possible.

Roy and Bonnie looked at each other. 

Bonnie smiled mischievously. “Roy how much you wanna bet, he’s going to ask for it when he can’t get it anymore.”

“$20, deal?” He extended his hand towards her and they shook hands.

“You guys are horrible.” He said as he breathed in and out deeply to a contraction.

A nurse came into the room and took Danny in a wheelchair to his room.  Once inside, he was completely shocked. It didn’t look like the delivery rooms he had seen in the youtube videos, this one looked fancy.

The first thing he noticed was that the room was very spacious. There was a reclined bed with the classic rails on the sides. Next to the bed, there was a rocking chair and the baby's examination table. It looked like a tall crib but far more complex with blankets and instruments that Danny and Roy had never seen before. On the wall opposite to the bed, almost touching the ceiling, there was a large TV below it two sofas. In the other corner of the room, next to the rocking chair, there was a white oval bathtub and a large inflatable ball. It all looked very organized and tidy.

“I know I’m a queen and I deserve this but are you sure I’m in the right room?” Danny laughed.

Roy and Bonnie were also surprised to see how big the room was. “Yeah! I won, not him.” Roy said sarcastically in hopes of getting out a laugh out of the people present. 

The nurse that had wheeled Danny smiled to them. “You got so lucky! The regular rooms are all occupied, this was the only room left and since it hasn’t been booked, you get to use it.”

The three of them were very surprised with the room.  Bonnie thought she hadn’t heard right. “Booked?”

“Yeah.” The nurse went on. “I was told celebrities book this room to deliver their babies.”

Their mouth's were pretty much touching the floor.  Danny was more than thrilled to know that. “Damn! Party!” He said with a wide smile.

“You lucky bitch.” Roy laughed shaking his head. “They definitely mistook you for someone else.” He said making everyone laugh.

The nurse and Roy helped Danny up to the bed. They put an IV on his arm just as a precaution, he would not receive any medication for the time being. He had already got used to the contractions, they were strong but if he kept calm and focused, they passed faster and he was able to endure them.

The first three hours passed fairly quickly between watching TV, youtube and listening to music. Whenever Danny was not having a contraction they would talk or even play cards that Danny’s mom had brought in her bag. She also had some snacks for them since they didn’t get to finish eating breakfast. 

Bonnie called their close family members to update them on Danny. As soon as they heard from her, Danny’s brothers, their wives and cousins came right away to keep him company. Throughout the pregnancy they had been very supportive of him. They had teased him a lot for it too. They told him that he looked like a rope with a knot in the middle since he still looked so skinny from the back. They made him laugh through many of the contractions, so it was pleasant for Danny to have them there.

It was already 6:30 in the evening. The doctor had come to check Danny a while ago and she told him he was seven centimeters dilated. Danny was so upset, in six hours he had dilated only two more centimeters. 

“What the fuck? I can’t believe this! Only two centimeters in six goddamned hours?” Danny said as he grabbed his back with both hands and leaned backwards, looking at the ceiling. 

“Danny you are okay, I read that other woman take like a lot more time to progress. Think about it this way, you are three centimeters away from getting there.” Roy said trying to cheer him up.

“Three centimeter’s away!” He made a gesture with his index finger and his thumb. “That’s like this big! Why can’t I fucking dilate faster?”

“It’s not that much so just be patient.” Roy said as he went back to checking his phone.

“Just be patient…?” Danny flipped. He opened his mouth and widened his eyes looking at him in disbelief. “Excuse me! You have no idea how hard it is when you have pain every three minutes and you feel this stupid ass pressure inside and it just hurts! So don’t fucking tell me to be patient! Oh shit!” Danny felt another contraction hit him so he placed both hands on the bed and moved his hips slowly side to side until it was over.

Roy immediately regretted talking back to Danny. He went right behind him to press the sides of his hips together slightly relieving the pain.

He had been doing good with the contractions so far, but had reached a point in which he could feel them getting stronger and after knowing he hadn't progressed much, it was getting the worst out of Danny. His brothers went to get them something to eat since what they were doing to help Danny through the contractions, was not working anymore. 

Roy hated seeing Danny in so much pain and being unable to do anything about it. “Danny why don’t you get the epidural now?”

Danny looked so sweaty and annoyed. “No! I can’t take drugs! I’ll use it only when I really can’t take it anymore.”

“Why are you so fucking stubborn? Get the epidural now! It won't hurt the baby and you won’t feel a thing!” His mom was on Roy’s side on this one.

“No! I’m strong! I won’t get it until I am dying of pain! That’s what this things are for!” Danny said leaning on the bed with trembling arms.

Roy and Bonnie looked at each other and shared a worried look.  Roy then went towards the tub and opened the sink. “Why don’t you get in the tub? It might help you relax and refresh a bit.”

Danny looked around, he looked as if he wanted to escape the situation entirely but he obviously had no way out, so he just nodded. “Okay.”

Roy filled the tub with hot water and then opened the cold water sink to even it out. Once filled, his mom helped him take his hospital gown off until he was completely naked and helped him get inside. 

They helped him sit down, and once he was all the way in, he let out a loud relieved groan. “Oh my God! Why didn’t we do this sooner? This feels so much better.”

Roy grabbed a small towel, got it wet with warm water from the tub, drained it and placed it on Danny’s shoulders. 

Danny let out a relieved sigh right after the towel made contact with his skin. “Okay I think I can keep this up now.” He leaned back in the tub and placed both hands on the edges and moved his neck in a circular motion. Both Roy and Bonnie were very attentive towards him, if he needed a sip of water, his mom was already with the cup next to his mouth and if he needed a hand to press, Roy’s was always close.

Every thirty minutes Danny changed into several positions. After a couple of hours, he got tired of leaning back in the tub. He then kneeled in all fours for a while as his mom and Roy poured water on his back. Later when he got tired of kneeling he held on to the edges of the tub and squatted. He looked up trying to relax, finding the squatting position very comfortable. All of a sudden he felt a shift in the baby’s position. He could actually feel the baby's head now very very low inside of him pressing down towards his genitals.

He had this feeling the time to push was getting near, it terrified him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How are you guys? We're almost there!  
> Did you like the chapter? Should this be continued? I hoped you liked it!
> 
> Next chapter is going to be very special. That's all I can say about it. Hopefully I can finish editing it either thursday or friday. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	27. For You

When he thought the pain couldn’t get any more intense, his body proved him wrong every time. Once he felt the baby’s head pressing really low with every contraction, Danny felt as if his hips were being ripped apart in half.  He frowned continuously pressing his lips tightly through the pain of each contraction, his mouth only opened to let out moans and groans which only got louder as the minutes passed. 

Danny was on his open knees, leaning on the side of tub with both arms resting on the edge. One hand was on top of the other and his head right on top of them, all drenched in sweat.  A contraction had just finished. He was gasping for air, he was so exhausted. He felt like he couldn’t keep this up much longer or he would die.

“I can’t do this anymore.” He lifted his head facing Roy and started sobbing. 

Roy was next to him caressing his arm. “You are the strongest person I know Danny. You can do this.” Roy felt so bad for him. Especially since there was nothing he could do to help him. He was usually good in figuring out solutions if any problem arose, it kept him busy. But now, when he wanted to help him out the most, he could do nothing. Never in his life had he ever felt completely useless.

Bonnie who had been sitting on the rocking chair not so far away from them also approached Danny and leaned down to caress his other arm. 

“My baby, you are gonna be okay. It’s gonna be over soon.” It broke her heart to see him in so much pain, she had never seen her son in such state.

Danny faced his mom and shook his head, he looked so helpless. He took a deep breath and placed his head on top of his hands once again defeated. “No, that’s it. I need the epidural right now. Ugh…” Danny felt another contraction start on his back and go slowly and painfully all the way to his lower abdomen. His breathing became loud, deep and slow, only to be interrupted by his groans and sobs.

Bonnie and Roy looked at each other sharing the same thought. Danny needed pain relief as soon as possible. 

Roy quickly stood up. “I’m gonna go get a nurse.”

He was making his way to get the doctor, when he heard a knock on the door followed by the doctor coming in. “Hello, how is our patient doing?” She said smiling as she approached Danny.

“Oh good! We were right about to get you.” Roy said relieved.

“I want the epidural now, please.” Danny said looking at the doctor, his face was completely red and he looked very tired.

“Alright we are going to get that happening for you but first I need to check you, okay?”

Danny closed his eyes and nodded. He slowly turned around, getting himself into a better position for examination. He placed his right elbow on the edge of the tub grabbing his forehead. He sat down on the tub with his knees flexed and spread open. The side of his right leg was touching the surface of the tub’s floor while the other was flexed with the sole of his foot touching the tub’s floor. The doctor proceeded to put globes on then she grabbed a small device and placed it low on Danny’s belly looking for the baby’s heartbeat. She immediately found it and listened to it for about a minute.

“Heartbeat sounds really good.” She said as she put the heartbeat device next to her on the floor. “Now I’m going to check you, okay?” She said dipping her hand under the water towards Danny’s genital area. Danny nodded as he felt the gloved fingers making their way through him, more painful than the times she had done it before letting out a groan in discomfort. 

“Danny you are doing great! You are about eight centimeters now.” The doctor said taking her hand out.

Danny didn’t even have the strength to show his emotions properly so he avoided the doctor’s gaze. Just by looking at Danny, Bonnie and Roy knew exactly how he was feeling. Having only progressed one centimeter in two hours, he was definitely devastated. 

Danny then shook his head and looked at the doctor. “Please I want the epidural, I can’t take this anymore.” He said giving her a pleading look.

The doctor then looked at him concerned. “I’m not sure if the anesthesiologist will agree to an epidural since you are this far along already.”

Danny’s face now showed sheer panic.

“But…” She finished her sentence. “I’m going to call him so that he can examine you and see if you can still get it. There is a chance you might still be able to. I’m going to look for him and send him here as fast as possible, okay?”

Danny half smiled relieved. Even if it was a possibility, just the thought of the pain going away was like music to his ears. “Okay.”

And so the doctor left.

About fifteen minutes passed and there was no sign of any anesthesiologist coming to give him the epidural. To make matters worse for Danny, recently he had started having this odd feeling of pressure right between his legs he hadn't felt before, so much so that it made him want to push.

Roy had been on his phone for a couple of seconds until he noticed the room had suddenly turned quiet. He looked at Danny who was squatting holding on to the sides of the tub. Roy grabbed Danny's arm, he felt it shaking. Danny was so still and turning pink. “Danny?” He asked unsure of what was happening to him.

Bonnie was out getting some ice chips for Danny and when she came back she saw him with his gaze focused, holding his breath and his skin turning fire red.

“Danny are you pushing?” His mom asked fearful. 

Danny didn’t answer her. His eyesight looked focused on one point of the pool, he was holding his breath. Then suddenly he let out a groan and started panting.

“I- I don’t know mom. My body is- is just like…” He spoke between pants looking at his mom. “It’s doing it on it’s own. I can't help it, I feel this pressure.” He then looked at Roy. “I need to push.” With that said, once again he held in his breath and pushed.

“Wait! No! No! No! Danny! Not yet!” His mom screamed at him fearing for her son and the baby.

“I’m gonna go get the doctor!” Roy ran to towards the door and right before he got there, there was a knock on the door. When he opened it, he was relieved to see a doctor, but it wasn’t Danny’s. He didn’t know who he was but since he was in scrubs he just told him what was going on. “He says he needs to push!” Roy said to him.

The doctor went inside the room and with just one look at Danny, he fast walked outside. “I’m gonna call his doctor right away.”

Roy went back inside and kneeled next to Danny. “Are you okay in there?” He asked him.

Danny seemed to be in constant pain now. “No, I want to go to the bed but I’m afraid to stand up.” He felt the pressure of the baby’s head pushing through his pelvis.

“It’s alright I’ll help you.” Roy placed himself behind him, grabbed him from below the armpits and with all his strength pulled him upwards to a stand.

“Oh God. I need to push now.” Danny groaned as he slightly bent forward holding on to Roy with one hand and placing the other hand on his own thigh as he breathed heavily.

“Wait Danny, no!” Roy said desperately.

“Just keep breathing on this one! Let’s get you to the bed first!” His mom told him as she grabbed his other arm and with Roy’s help got him out of the tub and onto the bed.

Danny quickly laid flat on the bed with both legs flexed. He touched the sides of his belly and breathed in and out heavily moaning from the pain. The unmistakeable urge to push very settled within him.

All of a sudden the door to his room opened and in came his doctor. 

“Hello! Danny let’s see how you are doing.” She quickly approached them and since Danny was already in a good position, she just gave a quick look right between his thighs. That was all it took, she didn’t need to do more. The doctor’s expression completely changed into a serious and focused one as she ran towards the wall and pressed a button. “I need a delivery team here, get NICU stat.”

Danny closed his eyes panting as he let out moans of pain. 

“Alright this is it Danny. With every contraction I’m gonna need you to push as hard as you can to the count of ten.”

Danny looked so terrified, he started crying. He looked as if he wanted to escape the situation and run out of there, but to his dismay it was impossible to do so. Roy and Bonnie got on each side of the bed and were leaning towards Danny telling him close to his ear words of encouragement, telling him how much they loved him and that everything was gonna be okay, even if they were both as nervous and terrified as him.

“Can you lift that side of the bed, please?” The doctor said to Roy.

He just nodded and pressed a button on the rail of the bed which made Danny almost sit in a forty degree angle. 

The door of the room opened once again and in came about seven people. Four people went towards the baby’s examination table that had been close to the feet of Danny's bed. They put their gloves on and moved very fast placing sheets, instruments on top of it. Two nurses went to the foot of the bed and started assisting the doctor while another nurse stood next to Roy and looked around her making sure everything was ready. 

It was all so overwhelming for Danny. The room that had looked big before, now looked so crowded. In a matter of a minute all the doctors and nurses got everything ready and now all eyes were on him. He continued crying out of fear, not knowing what to do. 

“Danny when you have a contraction I need you to push as hard as you can.”

He didn’t even recognize if it was a nurse or if it was the doctor talking to him. He felt his mom and a nurse grab each of his legs helping him to keep them open.

“You can do this Dan.” He heard Roy close to his ear talking to him. 

All of a sudden he felt his body tensing, like it had never done before, that was his cue to start pushing. He held on to the bed rails and so it began the titanic labor of bringing his daughter out into the world. 

He could heard his mom counting for him and some of the nurses say things like ‘A bit more. Good job.’

“Push with your chin to your chest.” The doctor said to Danny.

Roy tried to help him by putting his arm behind the pillow supporting Danny’s head. Roy was so scared now. Even from behind the pillow he could feel Danny’s entire body tense up as he pushed. He just kept whispering to his ear. “Come on Danny, keep going, keep going.”

By the end of each contraction he could feel Danny’s body relax and move up and down with every breath. 

“No! I can’t do this! It hurts!” He screamed, tears streaming down his face.

Without notice, he felt his hand being grabbed by the nurse next to Roy and then being pulled towards his crotch. He felt something hard and moist inside of him. “Do you feel that? That’s your baby’s head.” The nurse said pressing Danny’s fingers towards it.

Danny gasped and pulled his hand away from there and looked at Roy as if seeking for help. Roy couldn’t do anything but to reassure him. “Danny she’s right there. You can do this! We are gonna meet her really soon!”

Danny took deep breaths and looked at Roy shaking his head. “Please don’t take her away from me! Please don’t! I beg you! Please!” Danny exclaimed sobbing.

Roy was completely caught off guard with Danny’s words. “No Danny— Never! No, she’s yours. All yours.” Roy couldn’t help tearing up after listening Danny say such a thing at this time. The poor man was so vulnerable and lost at the moment that he was voicing his fears. And to think that Roy himself was one of them it made him feel completely miserable.

Danny was exhausted, but having felt his baby’s head gave him more strength to push through the contractions to get his baby out. After about 10 minutes of pushing, he felt pain as he never thought something could hurt before. The people in the room saw how the baby was beginning to crown, causing agonizing pain to her poor progenitor. 

Danny screamed to the top of his lungs, trying so hard to keep his legs spread open with the help of his mom and the nurse. 

“Danny one more push and her head is out.” The doctor exclaimed.

Danny had already lost track of time, he felt as if he had been pushing for so long. He wanted this to be over so bad, he immediately started pushing again with all his might. 

“Oh my God Danny! Keep going! She’s almost out!” He heard his mom say as she was almost hugging one of his knees, her eyes were shimmering with tears.

“It burns!” He said as he pushed with his teeth tightly clenched. It was as if his insides were on fire and his pelvis was being torn in two He didn’t even have the strength to scream anymore. 

“Come on Danny! She’s almost out!” Roy exclaimed covering his mouth from the impression at the sight of what he was witnessing.

Danny kept pushing until the burning sensation suddenly diminished leaving him gasping for air.

“Amazing job Danny! The head is out!” He heard the doctor say.

Bonnie covered her mouth as she looked at her granddaughter’s head. She couldn’t believe it, she was almost out. “Danny her head is out! Oh my god! Look at all that hair!”

To Danny it sounded like voices far away. The only loud voice was Roy who was right next to him, talking to his ear, encouraging him on. “She’s almost here baby, one more push.” Now Roy’s eyes were filled with tears as well.

“One last push Danny and she will be completely out!” He heard the doctor say.

Danny nodded gasping for air and pushed again with all his strength. The pressure and the burning sensation between his legs came back once again making him scream from agonizing pain but this time it was quicker. Once it was gone, he felt his entire body give in to exhaustion as he let himself fall back to the bed.

Immediately he felt relief, the pain was gone. 

Then all of a sudden he felt something warm being put on his chest. He looked down and saw the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on. He saw this tiny baby on him moving and squirming against his bare skin. Danny instinctively put his hands around her trying to hold her. “Oh my God! Oh my God!” He exclaimed between sobs, feeling the warmth of her little body. 

She was finally here. It’s was so surreal, he couldn’t believe he was actually holding his child.  Next to him, his mom was sobbing covering her mouth with both hands as her eyes went from him to the baby. Roy was also crying covering his mouth and nose with trembling hands. 

The doctor then extended her hand towards the baby and started massaging the baby’s back, drying her with a blanket at the same time. Suddenly she started making little gurgle-like noises that after a few seconds became loud cries. Danny had never heard such beautiful and strong sound. How could the cries of someone so small mean so much to him? He wondered in a second.

The people in the room looked relieved after they heard her cry.

Danny was in a state of pure bliss. He forgot about the pain, he forgot about absolutely everything. He only wanted to have his daughter with him, close to him, right on his chest.

“It’s okay baby, mommy’s here. It’s okay.” He said with one hand on her head and the other one on her back. Danny looked down, he could only see her hair and part of her facial features, but at that moment it didn’t matter. All he could think of was that she was here and she was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. It was very intense.  
> He made it! Danny had to go through so much to get to this moment and now against all odds, she's finally here. What should we name this little angel?  
> As always thanks for reading and commenting! Next chapter will be up next friday.


	28. A New Kind of Fear

Roy had never witnessed something so miraculous. He started bawling as soon as the baby was placed on Danny's chest. There were so many emotions going through him. 

_ Happiness, excitement, relief.  _

He knew firsthand all the sacrifices Danny had made to get to this moment and she was finally here. She was moving and squirming on Danny’s chest. Danny looked so exhausted but at the same time so happy. It had been one of the most beautiful and scariest things Roy had ever witnessed. 

Roy's eyes were completely drawn to the baby, he had never seen a baby so small. She was so close to him on Danny’s chest. He was so nervous he couldn't even touch her, he was only able to muster the courage to caress the back of her little hand for a second.

As the doctor continued tending to Danny, a nurse from the neonatology team approached him with a blanket on her arms, extending them towards the baby. She looked at Danny waiting for his approval so she could take her. Danny had already been told when he was admitted, that since the baby was premature, she had to be checked by the neonatologist as soon as she was born. Danny nodded approvingly and the nurse proceeded to carefully get a hold of his daughter. Before she took her to the examination table, she got the baby’s head close to Danny allowing him to give his daughter a kiss on her forehead. His heart broke when she started screaming again as she was being taken away from Danny. He placed a hand on his now empty chest. For a minute he thought he could actually feel it hurt. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her. It was as if his world had suddenly shifted and it was all about her. 

Roy hugged Danny, gave him a kiss on his temple and then got close to his ear to tell him he had been amazing. Bonnie also approached Danny, hugged him, and gave her son a kiss on the forehead. She congratulated him and told him how proud she was of him. She then followed the nurse to where her granddaughter was being examined. Bonnie was on the tip of her toes trying to take a picture of the baby with her phone on one hand and wiping off her tears with the other. She was so happy and proud.

The baby’s cries lowered in volume as she was being examined. The doctor focused mainly on her heart and lungs, while the nurses took pulses and measurements.

“She weighs 5 pounds 3 ounces and measures…” The nurse grabbed a measuring tape and straightened her leg. “18.20 inches in length.” The entire family was rejoiced listening to the numbers. 

“Look at those beautiful dimples you have huh?” One of the nurses said as she measured her head. 

Bonnie and Danny looked at each other first when they heard the nurse’s comment, they smiled and then looked at Roy. 

Roy seemed to be completely out of it, he didn’t hear the nurse’s comment at all. His sight pointed directly to where the baby was. His eyes were red and swollen from all the tears shed, but even then he looked so happy he couldn’t look away from her. 

Danny realized it was time. 

For Roy’s good, his own and especially the baby’s, he had to ask the doctor. It was his responsibility as a parent. 

“Excuse me, we need to do a paternity test, on him and the baby please.” Danny said to his obgyn as he placed a hand on top of Roy’s who was holding on to the rail of the bed. The sudden touch of his hand brought Roy back to his senses getting slightly startled. 

The doctor nodded immediately. “Yes, of course. We have to talk to him.” She pointed towards the neonatologist who was still tending to the baby. “That’s Doctor Suarez he’s the neonatologist that will be— he will be in charge of— of…”

The doctor stopped when she heard something odd and turned her gaze into the direction of the examination table where the baby was being checked. It had not gone unnoticed by Danny either, he heard his baby’s cries change. All of a sudden her cries had turned low and intermittent. She would cry for two seconds, abruptly stop and then continue crying. When Danny looked at her, she looked like she was continuously crying but for some reason, at the pauses, there was no sound coming from her whatsoever, like muted cries in between normal ones. 

Suddenly all eyes in the room were on the baby.

“What’s going on? Is she okay?” Danny who had been leaning back on the bed, pressed both hands onto the mattress trying to sit straighter so he could take a better look at what was going on with his daughter.

“Once he finishes examining her, he will let us know.” A nurse next to the obgyn answered him since the ones tending to the baby had all of a sudden become very busy.

Around the baby, the doctor was giving the nurses indications as he continued checking her heart sounds and her lungs. He took a while ausculting her and looking at her vitals on a screen when suddenly his look turned serious and started shaking his head.

"No. She’s desaturating quickly, we need to go to the NICU right now!"  The doctor proceeded to grab the baby wrapped in the blanket that was below her and left the room immediately with the baby in his arms.

Danny was speechless, his hands started shaking. 

In an instant, he felt as if his soul had left his body as the doctor took his baby away from the room and away from him. He didn’t know what to say or do, he just felt so much panic and fear that he covered his mouth with both hands and started sobbing. He looked at his mom who now had a hand covering her mouth from the impression of what just happened. “Mom? What’s happening?” He said between sobs.

“I’m gonna go with them, I’ll be back when I know something.” She said as she ran after the doctor that took the baby to the NICU.

Roy also couldn’t believe this was happening. About a minute ago everything was fine. Never had he considered things could go this way. They had been through so much, things couldn’t make a bad turn now. 

“She’s— she’s with the doctors, she’s where she needs to be right now. I’m sure they will let us know once she gets better.” Roy didn’t know if he was saying these things to reassure Danny or to reassure himself. 

“Once they are done treating her, they will inform you on her condition.” The obgyn said, she was still tending to Danny below by the feet of the bed.

“I have to be with her, she needs me…” Danny said as he tried to pull his legs to the side of the bed to stand up.

The obgyn stood up and widened her eyes at Danny. “Wait please don’t move!” He still needed to deliver the placenta. The nurses around him were also telling him to please not stand up.

Roy who was still next to Danny’s bed, grabbed him by the shoulders. “Wait! Danny, look at me.” He then cupped his face with both hands making him face him and stopping him from moving in the most caring manner he could at the moment. “Baby we have to wait, your mom is with her…”

Danny looked so scared, frustrated and anxious. “But I’m her mom! She’s alone! She’s never been without me! I have to be there!” Danny yelled at him sobbing with a hand pressed on his own chest.

Roy then leaned towards him and hugged Danny tightly. “Even if we go there, there’s nothing we can do baby. She’s with the doctor now and she’s in the best hands in this hospital. All we can do now is wait and listen to what they have to say and we’ll go from there, okay?” 

Danny continued crying burying his face on Roy’s neck. Roy was also crying, he felt terrible for Danny. He was so worried about the baby as well. He couldn’t forget the sound of her cries, they didn’t sound natural at all and then they took her away so quickly. 

This was their worst nightmare.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

About an hour had passed after the baby was born and there was still no news about her condition and his mom wasn’t coming back either. 

Every minute felt like an eternity to Danny.

Once he had delivered the placenta and was all cleaned up, the nurse helped him change into a clean hospital gown and helped him sit on the rocking chair while they cleaned the bed. As he sat there, he looked completely lost, his eyes would look all over the room impatiently. Even though he could breath more at ease and he felt lighter, he felt sick. He placed a hand on his now flat abdomen, there was nothing there. No kicks, no movements and it drove him crazy. He couldn’t help imagining what his baby was going through. Was she being hooked to big beeping machines? Was she being poked and prodded with needles? It broke his heart to think that she was all by herself and in pain. He hated sitting there doing nothing, but that was not the worst part. The worst part was that even if he could run to his daughter’s side, there was nothing he could do to help her. 

He crossed his arms, hugging himself. He felt so empty and useless. All he wanted to do was be with her.

As they waited, a nurse came to his room and took a small blood sample from Roy for the paternity test. It helped distract them for a while. Roy knew the paternity test was important but at that moment he didn’t care about it that much, all he thought about was the baby. He just wanted her to be okay.

A nurse from the NICU also came to put a bracelet on Danny identifying him as parent of the baby. As she put it on him, she mentioned she had another one since they were meant to be for both parents. The nurse asked Danny if there was a close relative she could put the other bracelet to. The first person Danny thought of was his mom, but she was still in the NICU with the baby. Roy and Danny’s cousin John were also in the room with him. He looked towards each of them thoughtful then he took a deep breath and set his eyes on Roy. 

“He can have the other one.” Danny said.

Roy widened his eyes, he wasn’t expecting to be picked. “Are you sure?” He looked at Danny’s cousin John. Roy thought he would pick him, he was extremely close to his cousin after all. 

John only smiled back to Roy and nodded encouraging him to take the bracelet. He knew there was a chance Roy was the baby's dad, he had been greatly involved throughout the entire pregnancy so he thought he should have it. 

The nurse then approached Roy and he extended his arm letting her put the bracelet on his wrist. 

About half and hour passed and Danny found himself completely absorbed staring at the bracelet the nurse had put on him. In it it was written ‘Noriega Baby Girl’ and it also said the baby’s weight, length, time of birth and other information. He read the bracelet again and again rocking himself back and forth. So far it was the only tangible proof that he had had a baby. That she was alive. 

The wait was making him so anxious, he could hear the ticks of the clock so loud. His cousins had come to his side to congratulate him and support him. Danny appreciated being congratulated, it was a nice reminder that his daughter had been born, and that itself was a joy. The thought of his family being so happy for the arrival of his daughter made him feel so grateful for them. But sadly, those emotions couldn't suppress the worry he felt for the baby. His family tried to cheer him up and get his hopes up but nothing they said got to him. They tried to message Bonnie, but there was no signal in the hospital. With no news from Bonnie and the baby, the room would get awfully quiet and even Roy who always had something to say, wasn’t saying much either. 

Danny was getting tired of waiting, he needed to see her.

“I can’t wait anymore. I have to go see her.” He tried to stand up but he stopped once the door of his room opened. There was his mom along with the doctor who Danny recognized as the baby’s neonatologist. Everyone except for Roy and Bonnie left the room. Since Roy had one of the baby bracelets he was allowed to stay in the room. His mom went next to Danny and placed a hand on his shoulder.

The doctor stood in front of him. “Hello, I’m Dr. Suarez Neonatologist in charge of the NICU.” Danny held his tears back biting his lips and braced himself for whatever the doctor had to say. “First of all let me tell you right now your baby is okay. She’s stable.”

As soon as Danny and Roy heard that, they both looked at each other and let out a relieved sigh. 

The doctor then went on. “Right now she has nasal cannula that’s helping her get the oxygen she needs and so far she’s been responding well to it. It seems at some point after she was born she started experiencing some breathing difficulties and the oxygen levels in her blood started to drop quite rapidly, that’s why we had to rush her to the NICU. We are thinking there is probably still some fluid residue in her lungs. Since she is premature she is not fully able to get rid of this fluid on her own, which is what could be preventing her from breathing properly. This is very common in premature babies like her but we still want to take an x-ray and get blood samples so that we can rule out infection and other lung issues.” The doctor made a pause.

Danny nodded. “But is it bad? Is she going to be okay?” He asked.

“Right now it's not that bad, but with our patients in the NICU we have to take it day by day. We can’t guarantee everything will be fine because these patients’ condition tends to change drastically within hours. As of now your daughter is doing good. She is responding really well to the oxygen. We will inform you as soon as there is a change in her condition.”

Danny understood and nodded. “Thank you so much. When can I see her?”

“Right now it’s important that we do the blood tests and take the x-rays we need so we can change the treatment accordingly, so in about an hour or so.” 

The doctor’s last four words resonated like an echo on Danny’s head. He had already waited more than an hour. Waiting for one more was already feeling like torture.

“Please I need you to sign here so we can start with the testing.” The doctor handed him some papers which he signed immediately. “We will call your nurse to let you know when you can come down and see your baby.” The doctor said.

“Thank you.” Danny said, very saddened by the doctor's update. As soon as  the doctor left, he buried his face in both hands and started crying.

His mom immediately hugged him. “Danny, the doctor says she’s stable, she’s gonna be alright. She’s strong like her momma. We gotta pray that she’s gonna be okay.” She looked at Roy as well, the older man looked just as sad as Danny. 

“It’s all my fault. If only I could have kept her in a little bit longer maybe—!” Danny said, blaming himself between sobs.

“No...” Both Roy and Bonnie said in unison. 

Bonnie hugged her son and then cupped his face with both hands. “Baby you were amazing, you did the best you could. She just wanted to join us a little bit sooner. She’s a fighter like her momma! You'll see.” Bonnie tried comforting him even though her voice was trembling. 

Danny’s cousins had been outside while the doctor was informing them about the baby. Once they came in they kept trying to reassure him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. Having children of their own, they couldn’t even imagine what Danny’s fear was like at this point.  Danny was counting the minutes and even the seconds left for the hour to be finished so he could see his daughter.  About 40 minutes in, unexpectedly, a nurse came and told them that they could go to the NICU to see the baby. 

Danny had waited enough. He was so eager to see her, he couldn’t wait any longer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a friendly reminder: The nature of this story is 'Angst' so when you think everything is gonna be okay, things might take a turn at any time. In this chapter, the excitement didn't last long for Danny, mom and Roy. The baby was born premature and she is now having problems breathing. 
> 
> Next chapter, Danny will get to see the baby. It will also contain some insight regarding Roy's thoughts and the way he feels now that the baby is here and there is a possibility of him being the baby's dad.
> 
> As always thank you for reading! Comments are greatly appreciated! Next chapter will be up next friday.


	29. The World Shifted

Roy helped Danny get on a wheelchair and together with Danny’s mom they made their way to the NICU. 

Once there a nurse only allowed Danny and Roy in, since they were the ones with the baby bracelets and only two people could enter at a time. Roy felt bad that Bonnie couldn’t go in with them, she had been Danny’s rock through it all. He looked at her trying to make sure if she was okay with him going inside with Danny. Bonnie only looked back at him and gave him pats on the back encouraging him to go in. Roy nodded back to her and turned around to wheel Danny into the NICU.

The nurse first led them to an area in which they washed their hands and put a special gown on. Then she led them to a large room where there were four incubators. At first Danny thought they were empty, but when he focused his sight he then realized there were babies inside of them. He hadn’t noticed because they were so tiny. He had never seen babies so small.

He looked around trying to see where his baby was until he saw her. He immediately recognized her and followed the nurse, wheeled in by Roy. He was so eager to see her. 

They reached an incubator labeled ‘Baby Girl Noriega’ and t here she was. He could see his baby’s features clearly for the first time. 

She was so small, she looked so thin and fragile. She was laying face up with her arms and legs flexed. Her head was sideways so one of little fists was right next to her cheek. She had fair skin and a very thin layer of light brown hair. Her eyes were closed as she seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Danny found himself staring at all the little details of her face. She had long eyelashes accentuated by her closed eyelids. Her nose was so tiny and her mouth and cheeks were a beautiful tone of pink. He looked at the wrinkles of her fingers and the color of her fingernails. He wondered how could someone so little be so perfect.

“My angel…” He said to her with a tender voice and placed both hands on the surface of the incubator. “My love, momma’s here.” 

Even though in his eyes she was beautiful, he knew she was not okay just by looking at her chest and all the tubes and cables on her. Her chest was moving up and down so rapidly it scared him. She had a thin tube taped across her face that let oxygen through her little nose, as well as many heart shaped electrodes attached to her chest. In one arm she seemed to have a bandage and below it Danny saw they had put an IV on her. There was also a cable that had a red light hooked on her feet as well as a tag similar to the one on his own wrist labeled ‘Daughter of Daniel Noriega’ on it.

He wondered how could she have gotten like this when in his eyes she was so perfect.

“Mi amor. I’m your mom. We spent a lot of time together remember?” Danny put his hand inside through one of the openings of the incubator and softly caressed her arm. As he did so the baby then suddenly opened her tiny fist giving Danny the chance to put his finger between hers. The baby then closed her grip tightly on Danny’s finger and pulled it towards her mouth. Her hand was so small, Danny could caress the baby’s fingers with only his thumb. Danny was so moved by his daughter, he started crying. He could not be consoled. He wanted to hold her so bad.

Roy was behind Danny’s wheelchair. Just like the younger man now he found himself completely lost by the sight of the baby. She was absolutely the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. She was perfect. It broke his heart to see her attached to so many machines and also to see Danny crying for the baby. He bent down trying to calm Danny softly rubbing his shoulders and telling him that she was strong and beautiful and that she would get through this.

A nurse approached them and informed them that the blood samples taken from Roy and the baby had been sent to the lab for the paternity test. She said that the results would be back the following day as Danny had made the necessary arrangements in advance to have the results back as soon as possible. Danny just nodded and thanked the nurse while he continued to admire his daughter. 

At that moment he couldn’t care less about those results. Whom her other father was, it didn’t matter to him. He would always make sure his daughter had everything. His reason for living was now her, and he would do anything in his power to care for her and protect her, no matter what.

About fifteen minutes later, Roy remembered that Bonnie was outside. Roy knew how bad she wanted to see her granddaughter, so he thought he should trade places with her so she could also get to see the baby. 

Roy bent down to Danny’s ear.

“I’m gonna go get your mom okay?” Roy whispered to him.

Danny only nodded with his eyes still fixated on the baby.

Once Roy was out of the NICU, Bonnie immediately stood up and approached him. He told her she could go inside and see the baby. Bonnie didn’t waste any time and went to be with her son and granddaughter. 

Roy decided to wait on the seats outside of the NICU. 

He sat down and placed his elbows on his knees, burying his face in his palms. He didn’t know what to feel, he was in a limbo of emotions. After the roller coaster of events that took place in the past few hours, there were now so many things going through his mind.

He was aware that the child in the incubator Danny cried for _could be his daughter_. 

Now the thought of her being his and also her not being his terrified him for different reasons. Both reasons coming down to the fact that he loved her so much already, he only wanted her to get better so she could get to go home. 

He took deep breaths trying to think rationally about the two possible outcomes once again.He had already thought about them, they were very clear in his mind. But still, he knew that the time of finding out if he was her father of not was approaching, and that itself was so nerve wracking. He had to remind himself continously that he needed to remain calm no matter what and also think that either way he was going to be okay. Although now he was wishing for one of the possible outcomes to become real. 

He knew deep down, even if she was not his daughter, there was already a strong bond between the two. He had been there through the very beginning when Danny first found out about her existence and now he had watched her being born into the world. The three of them had already gone through so much, even if she was not biologically his, he felt she was also his to love and dote on.

Several times in his head he kept repeating that he would be okay no matter what, and that what mattered the most at the moment was the health of the baby, nothing else.

About fifteen minutes later Roy saw Bonnie getting out of the NICU. Roy stood up and walked towards her. Her eyes were so red and swollen.

“She’s so tiny and so beautiful.” Bonnie said in a sad tone. “I’ve never seen a baby that small. She’s breathing so fast, I’m so scared for her. If something happens to her, Danny will—”

“She’s going to be fine.” Roy interrupted her giving her a hug. He didn’t even want to hear about it. “If she’s anything like Danny, she’ll definitely be okay.”

Bonnie nodded and broke the hug. “Why don’t you go with him? He shouldn’t be alone in there.” She said blowing her nose with a tissue. “I’m gonna go back to Danny’s room and update the family.” Bonnie said leaving Roy in the hallway.

Roy then walked into the NICU. He made his way into the room in which Danny and the baby were. Danny was still with his eyes fixated on his daughter, like nothing else around him existed. He looked calmer now and he was smiling a bit. Roy stood next to him placing a hand on his shoulder. 

“She smiled to me a while ago.” Danny said very contented. “She opened her eyes a little bit and I think they are just like mine.” 

Roy could see Danny’s eyes so red and swollen, he looked so exhausted. 

Nurses came to check on the baby every five minutes or when machines started beeping. One of then suddenly approached them.

“Excuse me.” 

They both looked at her attentively.

“The doctor from the night shift has come to check on all the babies. Some procedures are going to be done on them. I’m afraid I have to ask you to leave for a couple of hours. You can come back at six in the morning. We start feedings at that time.” The nurse said to them, very kindly.

Danny looked back at her with sad eyes.

“Thank you.” Roy said nodding. He then looked at Danny. The poor man looked like he was running on adrenaline at this point. He needed to rest. 

“Danny I think we should get going. You need to rest, you haven’t eaten anything all day”

Danny’s eyes went from Roy to the baby and sighed.

“Good night my love. I’ll be back tomorrow morning.” He said caressing the back of the baby’s hand. “You need to stay strong for mommy, okay?” Danny then slowly removed his hand from the incubator and looked away. If he kept staring at her he wouldn’t be able to make himself leave. Roy also gave a last look to the baby and smiled to her. “Be strong for your mommy okay?” He said to her and then placed himself behind Danny’s wheelchair and wheeled him out of the room and of the NICU.

Roy wheeled Danny back into his room where they found Danny’s mom dozing off on one of the sofas. Bonnie flinched and woke up when she heard the door closing behind them. She went next to Danny and along with Roy, they helped him get into the bed so he could finally get some proper rest. 

“How is she?” His mom asked, she was rubbing her eyes she was so sleepy.

“She’s beautiful.” Danny could only think about her that way. He sighed and then continued. “The nurse told me she’s responding well to the oxygen. Right now we are waiting for blood culture results and for the doctor to check the x-ray.” Danny’s spirits were completely down. “A doctor is checking all the babies right now so… they asked us to leave.” Danny laid back on the still reclined bed sighing. 

His mom then stood up and put a paper bag with food on the table. “John brought food for us and left this for you. He said he’s gonna come tomorrow evening.” She said taking out a tray of food, opening it and putting it in front of Danny.

Danny was very grateful to have such an amazing cousin who cared so much for him. It was his favorite order of chipotle. And even though he had not eaten absolutely anything for the entire day, he was not hungry. 

Bonnie also handed Roy a tray. Roy took off the cover and just like Danny he only stared at his food with zero intention of getting a bite.

Bonnie saw Danny moving his food around with his fork, not eating anything. “Danny you have to eat something.”

Danny looked tired and uninterested in the food. “I’m not hungry. I can’t stop thinking about her.” He said dropping the fork on the table and laying back on his bed. “I know she’s in the best place she can be right now, I know there’s people watching her and making sure she’s okay but I can’t stop feeling so worried. How do I make this stop? Do I even want it to stop?” He said frustrated.

His mom then smiled at him. “It never stops Danny. You're screwed for the rest of your life. Now you better start eating something so you can heal faster. What is the baby gonna do with a momma that’s not fully healed? If at least you wanna do something and be there for her, you gotta be there on your best condition, so eat up.” Bonnie scolded him trying not to make a big deal out of it. She then turned around, sat on the rocking chair and took out her phone.

Danny sighed, his mom was right. He grabbed the fork again and started eating little by little, not because he was hungry but just because he needed to. Bonnie’s words got to Roy as well since he had also completely lost his appetite. 

It was already past midnight.

Danny had managed to finish the food that had been brought for him and he was starting to doze off. Roy went next to him and pressed some buttons on the rails of the bed so he could lay flat on it. He then dimmed the lights and in a matter of seconds Danny was fast asleep, not before making Bonnie and Roy promise they would wake him up if something came up with the baby.

Bonnie stared at his son from the sofa as he slept so peacefully. She couldn’t believe how strong he had been. They had been through everything together and now this, it was mind-blowing for her. She was so proud of him. She then looked at Roy who was covering Danny with a blanket. Roy had also been through every step of the way with them, even though he didn’t know if the baby was his or not. She had so much respect for him.

Once Roy finished covering Danny, he went to sit on the sofa not far from Bonnie. They were both so exhausted, they sat all the way back on the sofa.

“Crazy day huh?” Bonnie said barely keeping her eyes open.

“I think that’s an understatement.” Roy said letting out a soft laugh.

“I can’t believe I’m a grandma again.” Bonnie said tired. 

“Oh my god, I haven’t congratulated you yet!” Roy said as he sat on the edge of the sofa and went towards her with his arms open embracing her into a hug. “Congratulations!”

Bonnie accepted the hug gladly. “Thanks!”

Once they broke the hug, they were both so tired they immediately laid back on the sofa again.

Bonnie then looked at Roy, he was looking at the ceiling thoughtful. 

“Roy, you should go back home. It’s been a long day. Thank you so much for being here and for helping us out.”

Roy looked at her and smiled. “Don’t even mention it. Actually I was going to suggest the same thing to you. You should go home, I’ll stay here and watch Danny. I’m also very worried about the baby.” His smile slowly faded. “I want to be close by… just in case.” Roy said.

Suddenly Bonnie remembered what was at stake for him. There was a chance the baby was his. 

“Are you okay?” Bonnie asked him.

“Yes, I’m good. Thanks. I think I’m still under the effects of that last cup of coffee. But once it wears off I’m definitely done for today.” He said trying to sound optimistic.

Bonnie only looked at him. She considered asking him how was he holding up considering that the baby might be his, but then she changed her mind. If he hand’t brought it up, then he was probably alright or maybe he didn’t want to talk about it. 

Roy then stood up and grabbed some blankets he had found in a closet. He gave some to Bonnie and some he put in the other sofa in which he was going to sleep in. They both said good night to each other and then Roy turned the lights off. In a matter of seconds Bonnie fell completely asleep. 

About half an hour passed and Roy still couldn’t get himself to sleep. He was on his phone checking out his social media and reading through some random stuff. 

Out of nowhere he felt a strong urge to see the baby. He knew it was late at night but something inside him told him he had to go see her. Roy figured that was probably the reason why he couldn’t sleep. Maybe he needed reassurance that the baby was okay so that he could go to bed at peace. 

He decided to make a quick trip to the NICU. He would just take a look at her, make sure she was okay and then he would get back.

Once he got there, he pressed a button and he was let inside. He found it odd that once inside there wasn't a nurse to accompany him as had happened before. Since he had already been there, he knew what he had to do. He went to put a gown on, washed his hands and approached the room the baby was in. Once he was in the doorway of the room, he stopped in his steps shocked at what he saw. The incubator in which Danny's baby was in was surrounded by many people moving from side to side and machines beeping around her. 

He looked around, he had no idea what was going on. He stopped one of the nurses who was fast walking out of the room carrying different instruments.

“Excuse me. Is baby Noriega okay?” Roy asked her.

She looked like she was in a hurry. “The doctor is with her. He’ll inform you once he finishes examining her. Please wait here.” She said as she left the room.

Roy didn't know what to do. A nurse walked by him towards the baby. His heart dropped when he clearly heard her say, “She’s not well, she keeps desaturating.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Danny got to see the baby finally and Roy is trying to remain calm considering his position in all of this. 
> 
> Next chapter will be mostly about the baby and her health issues. 
> 
> I know friday is almost over but a Halloween party completely destroyed me last night, that's why this was uploaded very late friday. I hope you liked it!
> 
> As always thanks for reading and commenting! Next chapter will be up next friday.


	30. Bittersweet

Danny woke up to the soreness of his entire body. 

He groaned as he tried to sit up a little bit. It felt as if he had done the worst workout of his life. For some reason he felt he could breathe so easily now and he also felt so much lighter. Instinctively he put a hand on his mid section just like he had been doing every morning for the past few months. As soon as his hand landed on the now flat surface, he panicked. 

“Good morning momma.” His mom was sitting in the recliner next to his bed and as soon as she saw him waking up she approached him.

Danny started looking around disoriented, trying to figure out where he was. The first thing he saw to his side were the rails of the bed and his mom standing right behind them. That’s when it came to him. 

_He had just had a baby._

Danny looked around the room hopeful to find the baby somewhere but there was no sign of her whatsoever. He then remembered that she was in the NICU. Immediately he tried to sit up by himself, his face showing pain as he felt his abdominal muscles ache. His mom placed a hand on his back trying to help him sit. 

“Mom, everything hurts.” He said as he felt the soreness in every muscle of his body. “Do you know anything about the baby?”

His mom stayed silent for a few seconds and then she let out a half smile. “Roy left about two hours ago to see her.” His mom said avoiding his eyes nervously as she was pressing some buttons on the bed so that the top would slowly go up and Danny could lean on it and sit back. 

Knowing that Roy was with her and she wasn’t alone made him feel more at ease. “I want to go see her. What time is it?”

Bonnie looked at her phone. “It’s eleven in the morning.”

“What?!” Danny was so shocked to find out how late in the morning it was. He felt terrible. He couldn’t believe he had been sleeping all this time while his baby was sick and all by herself in an incubator. 

“Mom! I had to go see her at six! Why didn’t you wake me?” Danny asked concerned.

His mom seemed confused. “Danny you were awake for a little while. The doctor even checked you and told you were healing okay.” 

Danny’s jaw dropped. “What?” He couldn’t believe he had slept so much. The thought of her, all alone during the night having a difficult time breathing made him feel terrible. “Fuck! I have to go see her mom!” He said trying to get off the bed.

Bonnie tried to stop him. “Why don't we wait for Roy? He said he was going to go see her. I’ll call him.” His mom picked up her phone and called him, but there was no answer.

A few seconds later, Roy was coming into the room holding a pink, purple, and blue floral arrangement in a basket.

“You’re up! Good morning!” Roy approached him smiling and placed the basket on the table by the feet of Danny’s bed. 

Danny loved receiving flowers. They were really pretty. “Thanks. They are beautiful.” He said smiling towards him. “Did you see her? How is she?” He pleaded for answers.

Roy first gave a quick glance at Bonnie who looked back at him worried, and then looked back at Danny smiling. “I was with her, she’s the most adorable baby.” Roy said. 

Danny smiled back to him but as he kept looking at Roy, he could see his eyes were swollen and he had huge dark circles around them. Roy then looked at Bonnie for a second and his smile slightly faded a bit making Danny suspect there was something going on. 

Danny let out a slight frown and before he could say anything, Roy went on. “She had some trouble with her breathing during the night so they had to put a different tube on her that gives her more oxygen and she’s okay now.”

Danny’s expression suddenly turned dazed. He wasn’t sure if he understood correctly what Roy was implying. “What?” His eyes went from Roy to his mom.  “Are you telling me she got worse?” He said frowning at them confused and incredibly worried.

“A little bit. But like I said she’s okay now.” Roy’s smile now was completely gone afraid he had informed Danny about the baby in a wrong way.

The news felt to Danny like a stab on the heart. Expression completely gone from his now pale face. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard, he felt himself getting nauseous.

Bonnie saw the shock in her son’s face and placed her hand on top of his getting his attention. “She’s okay now. The doctor saw her oxygen levels kept dropping so he changed the tube she was on to a bigger one and now she’s doing good.” She tried to sound as calm as possible to transmit to him that everything was okay. 

To Danny it still wasn’t processing. All he could think of was that his daughter had gotten worse and he had not been with her. He felt like the shittiest parent in the world. How could he have been sleeping when his child was in an incubator having trouble breathing? He started shaking his head slowly frowning deeply as his eyes went from Roy to his mom. 

They could tell Danny was upset. 

“You promised me you would wake me up.” Danny said with a stern tone.

Bonnie and Roy looked at each other. 

“We’re really sorry Danny. You really needed some rest. Roy was with her during the night. I promise you, she’s doing okay.” His mom said. 

Danny looked away from both of them and let out a disappointed sigh. His sight then turned dead serious as he looked back at them once again. “I need to see her… Right-Now." He put a lot of emphasis in the last two words as his eyes went from his mom to Roy bitterly. 

They both felt bad for not having told him about the baby. Now they found themselves wondering if it had been the right decision but what was done, was done. If Danny was upset at them then they would take it. 

Danny then tried to get off the bed but was suddenly stopped by Roy who put a hand on his shoulder holding him back. Danny who had been looking towards his lap froze, looked up and shot Roy a death glare Roy had never seen Danny make towards him. 

“Just wait a minute. You can’t walk all the way there yet. I’m gonna go get you a wheelchair. Okay?” The look on Danny’s face for a minute made Roy think Danny would do something to him if he tried to stop him. 

Once Roy got the wheelchair, the three of them went to the NICU to see the baby.

After going through the protocolar procedures in the NICU, they headed towards the room the baby was in. Once in the doorway they saw the doctor from the night shift walking up to them. 

“Mr. Noriega, good morning.” The doctor gently smiled and extended his hand to him. Danny shook his hand briefly. 

The doctor then extended his hand to Roy. “Mr. Haylock. Good to see you again, good morning.” Roy and the doctor from the night shift had already gotten acquainted.

“May I have a word with you?” The doctor said to Danny.

Danny nodded. “Yes, how is she doctor?” He said worried.

“Right now she’s doing good. She had some trouble breathing through the night so we upped her oxygen levels and put her into a CPAP. That’s a tube that provides oxygen with positive pressure to help her out. After we put her on it, her oxygen levels went back up again and have stayed that way. The CPAP will also help her clear out the liquid in her lungs. We saw her x-ray and indeed since her lungs weren’t fully matured, there’s still some fluid in them.”

It made Danny sad to learn what was going on with the baby and it showed on his face.

“I know it sounds scary but this is common in babies born at her gestational age. All the symptoms will go away once her body is able to reabsorb the liquid in her lungs. We also had to put a feeding tube on her so that we can help her out a bit with that just while she’s on the CPAP.”

At the mention of a feeding tube Danny thought he could feel his heart ache. He took a deep breath trying to remain objective. “Is there some type of medicine to help her get this liquid out?”

“Yes, last night we gave her a dose of surfactant to help her lungs clear out the liquid but it still might take a couple of days until it’s all gone. We got her lab results and so far they are normal. That’s a very good thing.”

Danny and Roy both looked relieved to hear at least some good news.

“We are thinking the culture will also come back negative since there are no other issues with her. We just have to keep her on the oxygen through the CPAP until she can breathe on her own properly and also keep feeding her through the tube until her breathing gets better.”

Roy could see Danny was worried but he looked calm considering now he knew what was going on with his daughter and that she was being treated accordingly. 

Danny closed his eyes nodding and letting out a deep sigh. “Doctor thank you so much.” He said extending his hand to shake the doctor’s. Never in his life had he thanked someone meaning it so much as he meant it at that moment. 

“No problem.” The doctor shook Danny’s hand. “You can go see her now.” He then turned to Roy and shook his hand as well. “Mr. Haylock you should get some sleep too. It was a long night.”

Roy smiled grateful to the doctor. “Yes it was. Thank you so much.” The doctor then left.

Danny and Roy went inside the room the baby was in and headed towards her incubator. 

The baby was laying on her side, her eyes were closed and her mouth was slightly open. She had a thick tube connected directly to her nose. The tube looked so big on her, it almost covered her entire face. They had put large bandages around her head and the tube so that it could be held in place. She also had a thin feeding tube coming out from her mouth. 

Danny’s heart broke when he saw her. He could still see her little chest raising up and down so rapidly. He couldn’t hold in his tears any longer and started crying. 

“My angel…” He said to her with a sweet voice with his hands on the surface of the incubator. “My love.” Danny slowly and carefully inserted his hand through one of the holes of the incubator and reached for her tiny hand. “Momma’s here…” His fingers went from her hand to her arm and then to her belly, caressing her very softly.

“Hi momma. I'm sorry I took so long.” As Danny spoke, the baby started stretching her arms and legs slowly. Then she started to turn her face in the direction of Danny’s voice. The tube on her nose didn’t allow her to keep turning her head but she looked like she was definitely trying.  Danny smiled as he talked to her. “Do you recognize momma’s voice? Will you open your eyes for mommy? Please open your eyes for mommy…” Danny would never forget that moment as he saw his baby girl open her eyes little by little revealing a pair of gorgeous grayish eyes. 

“Oh... my baby…” Danny let out a smile and a soft laugh as well as tears while he softly caressed her cheek. “You have to get better quickly okay? So we can go home together, okay?” Danny said as he saw his baby stare back at him for the first time. 

Roy also shed some tears watching Danny react to the baby. He had already seen her earlier in the morning so he had gotten over the initial shock of watching her with all the electrodes on her chest, a larger tube on her face and a thin one coming out of her mouth.

That night, after Roy heard the nurse say the baby was not well, Roy decided to stay in the NICU and wait for any news regarding her condition. 

_Roy had never been so terrified for anything in his life._

He saw every single person in the room moving around a now open incubator so quickly, changing tubes and wires on the baby. Time seemed to pass slowly as he stood on the doorway watching them take care of her. He felt incredibly helpless for not being able to do anything for her. He could only wait. 

About an hour later, the doctor was finally able to inform him what had taken place. He explained to him what he had just explained to Danny and reassured him that she was okay then. 

After they were done they let Roy see her. 

It made him so sad to see the baby in such condition, with a large tube and bandages around her head. He stayed with her for about an hour, he felt he had to be there. Then since he was starting to doze off, one of the nurses told him that he should go rest for a while, that they would call him if there was a change in the baby’s condition. 

Roy went straight to Danny’s room and woke Bonnie up. She was shocked and disheartened to learn about what had happened to the baby. After he reassured her that the baby was okay, the two of them found themselves debating whether they should wake Danny up or not. 

They discussed the matter throughly and opted to not tell him. Danny had just fallen asleep less than three hours ago and he had just given birth. They knew he would get mad at them but Danny needed to rest so he could wake up with his energy replenished and be there for his daughter. They would take his place just until he woke up.

Roy was now in awe by the way the baby was reacting to Danny, the one who bore her and nourished her all this time, it was one of the most amazing things he had ever seen. The baby looked for Danny until she set her eyes on him.

A nurse then came in to see them to make sure they were okay. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, I just wanted to let you know that you can hold her if you want.” She said smiling to them.

Neither Danny nor Roy were expecting to hear such news.

Danny widened his eyes at the nurse in surprise. “I can hold her?” He asked with pleading eyes.

“Yes, of course you can. I’m sure she’ll like that too.” The nurse said. 

Roy helped Danny seat in a recliner next to the incubator while the nurse told him to pull his hospital gown down so she could place the baby right on his bare chest.

Danny did as he was told, eager to hold his baby. Roy was next to him helping him. The nurse then proceeded to open the incubator and carefully lift the baby up. Danny was so nervous but at the same time so excited as he looked at the nurse lift the tiny baby towards him. There was also another nurse behind her helping her with the tubes and lines. He was so ready to finally hold his child properly for the first time. 

The nurse carefully placed the baby on Danny’s chest. He placed a hand on her bottom and his other hand on her head and back. Even though she was small, he could feel the warmth of her body, her breathing and for a second he thought he could also feel her heartbeat against his chest. Danny closed his eyes feeling the side of her head touching the side of his chin feeling the softness of her hair.

_ He was in pure bliss. _

He had longed for this moment in months, to finally have his daughter in his arms. She was so beautiful, so perfect. Tears of gratitude and relief streamed down his cheeks as he heard her make little sounds. Danny had gone through so much, he thanked the universe to have finally allowed him to get to this moment. 

Roy was in front of him with a huge smile on his face, taking pictures and recording proudly. It was the most beautiful he had ever seen Danny. He was holding the baby so lovingly, everything else felt so banal. As he took pictures of them, he could see the baby let out a smile from time to time when Danny talked to her, revealing a beautiful pair of dimples on her cheeks. Roy was so happy to finally see them together like that.

Danny was able to only hold her for about twenty minutes. A nurse came and told them that it was almost time for her feeding. Danny gave her a kiss on her head and let the nurse carefully lift the baby from his chest and back into the incubator. Danny sighed, even though she was so close to him and he had just held her, not having her on his armsalready felt like an aching loss.

As Roy was helping Danny get back on the wheelchair, another nurse approached them.

She had a large envelope in her hands.

“Excuse me. I’m sorry, these are the paternity test results obtained with the blood samples taken from the baby and Mr. Haylock.” She said extending the envelope towards Danny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The time has come.  
> Next chapter will finally reveal if Roy is or isn't the father of Danny's baby.
> 
> I also wanted to apologize if it seems like the last few chapters have gone by too slow. I just thought I'd give more insight into what was happening and I got too carried away.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Next chapter will be up next friday as always.


	31. Love So Pure

The nurse words felt like a punch in the gut for both Danny and Roy. The paternity test results were the last thing on their minds at the moment. 

Danny widened his eyes surprised as he extended his hand and received the envelope from the nurse completely shocked. 

“Thank you.” Danny said looking at the envelope and then looking at Roy. "Oh god..." Danny said as he saw his own shock reflected on Roy’s face. About a month ago, he had paid a large amount of money to have the results back as fast as possible. It was the least he could do for Roy after everything he went through. He wasn’t expecting to have them this fast.

Roy had suddenly turned completely pale. He could feel his heart beating fast almost out of his chest and his hands getting ice cold by the second. He was beyond nervous. He had to look away for a bit to take a deep breath and be able to look at Danny in the most tranquil way he could possibly manage. 

“Oh my god. I- I- didn't think I would have them this fast.” Danny stuttered as his eyes went from the envelope to Roy. Danny was nervous, but he could tell Roy was even more nervous. The older man looked like he was about to cry at any moment. Danny could see him trying really hard to keep himself together.

Roy could feel his breathing getting faster and every hair in his body standing on end. His fate was inside the envelope in Danny’s hands. 

“Oh my god. No, wait.” Roy said shaking his head and looking at Danny with fear in his eyes. “Give me a second.” He said lifting his palms in front of him. Roy kept taking deep breaths as he started pacing around the room with his mouth covered with both hands.

Very few times had Danny ever seen Roy act like that. Roy always knew how to keep his cool all the time. He could tell this time the information he was about to receive meant the world to him. At that moment he felt so bad for him. He wasn’t sure what to do to help him. 

“Are you okay?” Danny asked concerned, biting his thumb’s nail and giving him a worried look.

Roy then stopped pacing as he stood in front of the incubator and looked at the baby. She was so precious laying there so innocently. His eyes then went from the baby to Danny and then to the goddamned envelope. He calmly sat back again on the recliner next to the baby’s incubator and nodded. Now he was at eye level with Danny, seating on the edge of his seat right in front of him.

“I’m alright. I knew this time would come at some point.” He took a deep breath. “I got this.” He said very determined.

“Are you sure you are gonna be okay?” Danny asked him still doubting his composure.

Roy bit his lips as he nodded to Danny. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” 

Danny could see Roy’s lips slightly trembling and at the same time looking back at him expectantly. Danny then looked at the envelope in his hands.

For some reason, the content of the envelope did not feel as important as he thought it to be at some point earlier in the pregnancy. Months ago, he felt he wished he had someone to experience parenthood with him. But now that his daughter was born, he now felt strong enough to do absolutely anything necessary to raise her on his own. The content of the envelope wasn't that important to him anymore.

Danny then looked at the baby. Her lips opened and closed looking for something to suckle on which made him smile in a loving way. At that moment he was reminded of the real reason why the envelope was important. It was not because of him, but because of her. He knew his daughter had the right to know who her other father was.  There were three possible people which Danny was sure could have fathered his baby. One he didn’t know of, the other one was a guy he met in a club, and the last one was Roy. From the three possible people that could be her father, only Roy had been tested. 

Danny then looked at Roy. He was now serious but at the same time his eyebrows were tilted slightly upwards in the middle as he bit his lips anxiously. Danny felt terrible for him.  Roy had been so amazing to him, even before he found out he could be the father. The way he found out about everything would forever be one of the things Danny wished he could have done differently. And even after he found out, Roy was nothing but supportive and present throughout the entire pregnancy. Danny felt he didn’t deserve to have someone so wonderful in his life as him. 

But right now his own feelings didn’t matter. He needed to know for his daughter and also for Roy if he was her father. It was his responsibility and it was finally time.

Danny’s eyes went from Roy to the envelope in his hands. “Alright. Here it goes.” Danny said turning the envelope around and opening the lid in the top. His face was dead serious as he did so. He slowly took out a file which he placed in front of the envelope and then opened, folding the cover to the back. Danny held the papers with both hands as he slowly began reading the report inside.

Roy had never been so nervous in his entire life. Danny taking out the papers happened in slow motion for him. His life was about to change. Every second felt like an eternity, every breath felt endless. He could see Danny’s eyes moving from left to right as he read the results. It wasn’t until he reached a line that his eyes widened enormously and then he gasped.

“Oh my god.” Danny whispered covering his mouth with one hand looking at the older man shocked. 

Roy didn’t know what to make of Danny’s reaction. He only stared back at him expectantly paying him his full attention for any other sign of a reply.

Danny was so shaken, he couldn’t believe what he had just read that he couldn’t manage to say anything else, he could only stare at Roy shocked.

“Oh my god…” Danny whispered letting out a soft laugh holding the papers with both hands. He looked at him straight in the eyes. Danny had to voice it, he had to tell him right away. 

_“She’s yours.”_

Time stopped for Roy. 

The words kept resonating like an echo in his head. 

He kept staring at Danny’s lips as he verbalized those life changing words. Roy could see Danny kept repeating himself looking straight into his eyes trying to get a reaction out of him, until slowly Roy softened his facial expression letting him know it had suddenly sinked in.

Roy took both shaking hands towards his face covering it entirely and started sobbing hysterically. 

Danny jumped out of his wheelchair and went to hug him holding his face towards his chest giving him kisses on his head.

“Oh my god! Oh my god!” Roy was whispering between his hands. What he felt at that moment was so overwhelming. He had never felt something like it before in his life. 

_Joy. Pride. Fear. Vulnerability_ and so much _Love._

He had never felt those feelings in such intensity as he did at that moment. It was indescribable. He was sobbing very loud, making Danny tear up. 

Danny then placed both hands on Roy’s cheeks cupping his face close to his own. “You have a daughter!” Danny said smiling excited to him and hugged him again. “She’s yours!” Danny was so happy.

“Oh my god!” Roy was still in disbelief. He then looked at the incubator close to him. Danny let him go of his embrace as he stood up nervously and went towards the baby. He looked at the her placing both hands on the translucent surface of the incubator. She was the most beautiful creature on the face on the earth and she was his. 

_This was his daughter, he was a dad._

He had never felt so happy in his entire life. All he wanted to do was hold her, embrace her, kiss her, take her home and tell her how much he loved her. 

“My love.” He said in a very loving way.

Danny went behind him and placed a hand on his back patting it supportively. 

From the moment she was born, Roy had known. He felt it. The amount of love he felt towards her was beyond anything he had ever felt before. He had tried to suppress those feelings out of his head the first time he saw her so that he wouldn’t set himself up for disappointment and heartbreak if she wasn’t his.  But deep down he had known. Something inside of him screamed she was his all along, making him stay close.

It was a type of love that was so pure and at the same time so terrifying for Roy. He suddenly felt as if all the fear and vulnerability in him had materialized and became his daughter. He kept staring at her, admiring her small movements. The baby was laying face up, now with her eyes closed.

As Roy continued looking at her his expression then turned sad. This was what he had feared the night before, when the possibility of the baby being his came to his mind. The baby was not well and she was going through a rough time right now. She was so tiny laying there, barely moving and hooked on to all those beeping machines with all those cables and tubes on her. He was already scared for her but now he felt that fear many times stronger than before.

So many powerful emotions filled him: love, fear and an overwhelming sense of sadness. It made him cry.

Danny went behind Roy and put his arm across Roy’s back and leaned his head on his shoulder as Roy inserted his hand through one of the holes of the incubator, softly stroking the baby’s leg. Her skin was so soft. To think that she was his to care for and love on, he was so happy, so proud. He had never experienced this kind of love.

Danny was so moved to see Roy react to his daughter the way he did. He could tell he already loved her so much. 

A nurse then approached them with some instruments.

“Excuse me, it’s time for her feeding. Would you like to help me?” She said looking at both men. 

Danny and Roy weren’t expecting to get the chance to feed her. They both nodded happily. The nurse explained to them that one of them had to hold the syringe with formula above her so it could go through her feeding tube. When she asked who wanted to hold it, Danny told the nurse Roy would do it catching him off guard. Roy was more than happy and at the same time nervous to help feed his child.

“Daddy’s gonna feed you, okay baby?” Danny said happily positioning himself on the other side of her incubator so they were both on each side. 

Roy put his hand inside the incubator and then the nurse gave Roy the syringe with the formula in it. At first he couldn’t see its contents go down, but as a minute passed he could see it going down. He was so happy he was at least able to do that for her.

Danny was beyond happy to see Roy interact with his daughter. He couldn’t be happier. His child was going to have an amazing father in Roy. He was sure of it. 

“Excuse me.” Danny said to the nurse. “After she’s done. Can we get to hold her again?”

The nurse didn’t reply right away which gave Danny the impression she would say no. 

“We just found out he’s her father and he hasn’t held her yet. It’ll be just for a little while.” Danny pleaded.

The nurse widened her eyes. “Oh my goodness! Yes of course. Congratulations!” She said to  Roy. “But it’ll be only for a couple of minutes okay?”

Roy was not expecting to be congratulated. He was smiling from ear to ear, he was so excited. 

Right after the baby had finished eating, the nurse told Roy to sit in the recliner and take his shirt off. Roy obediently did as he was told and sat in the recliner shirtless. The nurse then grabbed the baby and went towards him. Roy felt slightly overwhelmed at the sight of the baby coming towards him, but in a good way. The nurse carefully placed her on his chest, Roy placed one hand on her bottom and the other behind her neck. He could feel her skin so soft and warm, moving her little arms and legs on his chest. 

_He was at a loss for words._

What he felt at that moment was unexplainable, it was beyond anything he had ever experienced. The baby then started squirming and squealing in Roy’s chest. 

“It’s okay. It’s okay, baby. I got you.” Roy said tenderly. 

As she heard his voice, the baby then started to calm down. Danny was in front of him, taking pictures and video from his phone proudly and happy of his daughter and her dad. He then stood next to Roy and lowered himself to place his head right next to the baby’s in Roy’s chest. The baby opened her eyes and started following Danny's face with them. Even though she had a large tube in front of her she looked at Danny, smiled and closed her eyes again to go back to sleep. 

“Aww, are you happy momma?” Danny said to her, very lovingly softly caressing her cheek with one finger.

Roy was able to hold her for about fifteen more minutes until a nurse kindly asked them to leave since there were some procedures needed to be done on the other patients. She carefully took the baby from Roy’s chest and put her back into the incubator. Having her taken from his arms felt like an aching loss and he couldn’t do anything about it. It was heartbreaking.

Both Danny and Roy said bye to the baby and as they headed out of the NICU, they couldn’t stop looking back. Roy could not stop sighing. “Oh my god…”

“I know…” Danny said. “Doesn’t it feel like you left your heart back there?”

Roy raised the middle of his eyebrows sad. “It does.” He said as he pushed the wheelchair back to Danny’s room.

Once they got there, Bonnie was sitting in one of the sofas dozing off. She woke up fully when she heard them coming.

“Hey! How is she?” She said wanting to know more about her granddaughter.

“Right now she’s doing good.” Danny said as he climbed to the bed with Roy’s help. “She’s been responding well to the oxygen and she eats good too.”

“I want to go see her.” Bonnie said excited.

“Me too but they are doing some procedures to the other babies so we have to wait.” Danny said somewhat discouraged. But then he looked at the envelope in his hand and let out a little smile. “We also got paternity test results.” He said giving his mom a mischievous look.

“What?! Oh my God!” Bonnie’s jaw dropped. She wasn’t expecting to learn about those results so soon either. She had been with Danny and Roy through every step of the way. She really wanted to know if Roy was the baby’s dad. 

She looked at Danny expectantly and then at Roy. Immediately she noticed how both men were looking at each other smiling. 

“No!” Her jaw dropped. “She’s yours! Isn’t she?!” His mom yelled looking at Roy and then at Danny excited.

His mom’s reaction made Danny smile since he saw how excited she had just got. Danny let out a soft laugh nodding. “He’s her dad.” He said laughing.

His mom started screaming and jumping from joy. “I knew it! I knew it! Nobody in the family has dimples like those!” She said screaming and went to hug Roy to congratulate him. 

“Congratulations Papa! You are officially part of the family now!”

Roy couldn't be happier. Bonnie hugged him so tight with so much love he was so grateful for her, it moved him. 

“I still can’t believe it! This is so surreal!” He said whispering between sobs so overcome with emotion that tears involuntarily started streaming from his eyes to Bonnie’s shoulder. “She’s just so beautiful.”

Bonnie was so touched by Roy’s reaction that she just continued embracing him and patting his back. “It’s okay. She’s gonna be okay. She’s strong! She’s both of yours daughter after all.” She said to him in a motherly way.

After a moment, Roy broke the embrace and he wiped off his tears with his hands. 

“Oh my God! This is incredible!” Bonnie said as she grabbed Roy’s shoulders smiling. “Welcome to the familia!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything was finally revealed. After so many months we are very close to the end of this story. Initially it was supposed to be about 26 chapters but look where we are. I just need to clear out some lose ends here and there and we are done. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always thanks for reading! Next chapter will be up next friday or maybe sooner actually.


	32. Your Name

During the afternoon they went to see the baby again.

This time Danny went with his mom and other members of his family so they could get the chance to meet her. They all got to greet Roy first and congratulate him for the baby.

Everyone in Danny’s family was so happy and thankful that he was the baby’s dad. They had got to know him more in the past few months and they had really established a good connection with him. They liked him and they knew he would be an amazing father to the baby.

After spending some time with Danny's family, Roy decided he would go home to check on his dogs. As he was leaving the hospital's parking lot, he felt unease about leaving the baby in the hospital. It was odd, he almost felt as if he shouldn't be leaving, it felt as if he was leaving home, his family. He wondered if he felt that way because he was leaving his daughter back there. 

He was amazed at how someone so tiny could really have such an impact on him. He was so worried for her, but at the same time he knew if anything happened Danny was there and that gave him some peace of mind. Danny’s family was also there with them. Roy smiled, it made him happy to realize his daughter had so many people that cared for her already.

Once at his place, his dogs greeted him as cheerful as always. He feed them and stayed with them for a little while. Afterwards he took a shower and changed into comfortable clean clothes. Once changed, he laid on his bed for a second, just to reminisce about the events of the last forty eight hours. He was still in disbelief. He felt happy, proud and amazed at how at this point in his life, it had taken such a turn.

He closed his eyes for a second and without realizing it he fell asleep.

He woke up on his own about four hours later. He was startled to realize how long he had slept for. He quickly checked his phone only to find it completely dead. He plugged it in and waited for it to turn on so he could check on Danny and the baby as soon as possible.

Once on, he could see he had several missed calls from Danny and his mom, which made him panic and immediately called Danny.

“Danny.”

“Hey!” Danny said happy to hear him.

“My phone died and I fell asleep. How are you? How’s the baby? Is everything okay?” He asked concerned.

“Yeah! It’s all good! I’m holding her right now. I fed her a while ago, she’s doing good.”

Roy placed a hand on his chest and let out a relieved sigh. “Oh god! That’s good! That’s awesome!”

“Yeah! She’s a fighter like his momma. Aren’t you my little angel?”

“Is your mom with you?” He asked for her because he had seen on his phone missed calls from her as well.

“No. She went home after you left. I think she’s gonna come back later tonight I’m not sure.”

“Alright. I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later.”

They hung up. Roy then proceeded to call Bonnie. She answered her phone the second time he called her.

“Hello?” She sounded as she had just woken up.

“Hey Bonnie. It’s Roy.” He said smiling.

“Oh— hey—I’m sorry! I fell asleep.” She said, still sounding groggy.

“Oh my god! Did I wake you? I’m sorry! I just woke up too!” Roy said laughing. “We just gave out, didn’t we?”

“Yeah… I called you a while ago. I was gonna ask you if you could come over to help me figure out how to install the car seat.”

“Yeah, sure! Of course. I’ll be there in a sec.” Roy said happily.

Roy then made his way to Bonnie’s house. The first thing he saw inside was the box of the car seat and the crib in the middle of the living room.

Just by looking at them Roy felt strange. Before, they had been mere boxes but now they meant so much more. Bonnie made some coffee for both of them as they got to work. Thankfully, the assembling was not as complicated as they thought it would be and they finished in about an hour.

They sat down on the sofa. The conversation was very enjoyable for both of them even though they were both still tired. Bonnie told him how excited she was to have a new baby in the family and how crazy it was that she was Danny’s. She was also looking for the right time to ask Roy something that was bothering her after she found out he was the baby’s father.

Now that they were relaxed talking, she figured it was a good time.

“Roy, I also called you over because there is something I wanted to ask you.” She said to him in a serious tone.

Roy raised his eyebrows nodding curious.

“This is very important for me. I want to know how do you really feel about the baby.” She was very straightforward.

Roy was a bit taken aback by the question.

“Now that she’s here and you know she’s yours, has anything changed in the way you feel about her?” Bonnie was over the moon that Roy was his granddaughter’s dad. But she hadn’t had time to talk about it with Roy, now that he knew she was his. She didn’t know what he felt about the whole situation now.

Roy only looked back at her and slowly softened his look.

Bonnie continued. “I know this was very unexpected for you. It’s been rough months for all of us, especially for you and Danny. And I also know at some point it got ugly between him and you and you mentioned you would take the baby away from him.”

Roy really wanted to interrupt her at that point but he knew he had to let her finish.

“I just really want to know, what do you feel about all of this now?” She said with a deep frown to her face.

Roy only looked back at Bonnie. It was a deep question and he didn’t mind her asking at all. To him, her concern showed that she loved her son and granddaughter very much. He was actually happy that she cared about Danny and the baby enough to talk to him regarding that topic.

“Right now, all I can think about is all the love I feel for my daughter.” Roy said with a smile, shrugging his shoulders in a happy manner. “No matter how hard I try to think of anything else, she comes to my head every time. Not even my shows, my tours and—” Roy widened his eyes gasping, he then covered his mouth with one hand and started laughing.

“Oh my god! I had a flight to New York yesterday at noon and I completely forgot about it!” He said laughing. He had never forgotten about a flight before and he really couldn’t care less. Everything else now seemed meaningless and banal compared to his daughter.

“To be honest I think even before she was born, when I didn’t know if she was mine or not, I had already developed feelings for her. So even if she had not been mine, I would have still been around. This just makes it so great and surreal. I’m still in disbelief. I’m just beyond happy. I have a daughter!” He said excited. “I can’t wait to hold her, to have her here with me, with us and even now I’m looking forward to living a happy, fulfilling and long life holding her hand.”

Bonnie looked at him smiling. “You know. Even though I had no doubt that Danny would have been able to raise her on his own. I’m glad that he’s gonna have someone by his side through this new adventure. I think I speak for the family when I say we look forward to have you in our lives forever as well.”

Roy was not expecting her to say something so loving. He placed a hand on his own chest and approached Bonnie to give her hug.

Bonnie hugged him back in a loving manner. “Alright now.” She said as she broke the hug. “It was a crazy crazy day, let’s get to work and then let’s go back to the hospital. We gotta make sure these two angels get better.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Once they were done with most of the things at home, Bonnie and Roy made their way to the hospital to Danny’s room.

Roy opened the door and let Bonnie in first. When they came in they found Danny sitting on the edge of the bed being hugged by his cousin, sobbing on his shoulder.

This immediately worried Bonnie and Roy.

“What’s wrong?” Bonnie asked.

“What happened?” Roy also asked very concerned.

John stopped patting Danny’s back and slowly broke their embrace. Danny wiped his tears with the back of his hands.

“The baby in the incubator next to my niece passed away.” John said.

Bonnie and Roy gasped covering their mouths.

John continued. “Danny was holding the baby and then the machines next to us started beeping. They asked us to leave the room and come back in a couple of hours to give the family some privacy. A nurse just called us updating us on my niece and Danny asked about the other baby. The nurse said he didn’t make it.”

Danny was still crying. “I can’t believe it. I talked to the baby’s mom earlier in the afternoon, she was so nice and optimistic! Then all the machine’s started beeping and they asked us to leave. The baby’s parents were watching everything when the doctors were with him trying to save him. It was so sad and my heart— my heart just breaks for them. I can’t even begin to imagine—” Danny couldn’t even speak anymore. John patted his back. “I just remember thinking last night, the first thing I thought of telling my baby when I saw her wasn’t ‘I love you’, but it was ‘Please don’t die, please don’t leave me.’ This is so sad.” Danny said crying.

Bonnie and Roy were both saddened to learn what had happened. “Life is so fragile.” Bonnie said. “It’s such a shame they had to go through that.”

Roy just remained silent. He couldn’t even imagine what a loss like that could feel like and he didn’t even want to think about it. It made him feel very uncomfortable.

Danny blew his nose and wiped off his tears. “Right now I just want to go back and hold her, kiss her and never let her go.”

Bonnie thought it was really sad what had happened. The baby was still not out of the woods yes and she didn’t even have a name yet. She thought that was a good excuse to change the subject. “I forgot to ask you! Does she have a name yet?” She asked.

Roy and Danny looked at each other. Roy hadn’t thought about any names, just in case she was not his, as a way to not get too attached. He shook his head silently looking at Danny.

Danny thought about it for a second. “I picked out a few. I was thinking maybe Marilyn, Valerie or Tania. But when I look at her, I don’t think they fit her. I want it to be something special and meaningful. Do you have any ideas?” He asked wiping off his tears more calm.

Bonnie looked at Danny and Roy. “You have so many options. But when I see her, there’s only one name that comes to my mind.”

Roy and Danny looked at Bonnie paying their full attention to her.

“What about _Angie_?” His mom suggested.

“Angie…” Danny repeated, his mom had always called him angel when he was little. But to put it as her name, he was not fully convinced. “I don’t know mom.”

Roy then stood up and began pacing around the room while Danny and his mom still discussed the name. He reached the window and when it came to him he turned to face Danny and his mom.

_“Brielle.”_

Danny repeated the name after Roy. “Brielle…”

Roy crossed his arms and took his hand to his chin to explain himself. “If you think of it this way, it has some of the letters in our names. It’s got the I, E, L from your name and it’s got the R for me. It doesn’t have the letter Y but it has the letter I in there.”

Bonnie nodded. “That’s clever, it also has something from your stage name, the B for Bianca.”

“Brielle… Brielle…” Danny repeated the name several times until it came to him.

_“Angie Brielle.”_

Danny said with a huge smile on his face and wide eyes. He kept repeating the name and the more he said it, the more it fit her.

 _“Angie Brielle Haylock-Noriega”_   Danny said excited towards Roy. “Oh my God! It sounds so good. I love it!”

“Angie Brielle.” Roy also repeated the name and he couldn’t help thinking how well it fit her. He was also smiling ear to ear at how good it sounded.

“Maybe you should talk about the last names with Roy.” His mom reminded Danny.

Danny had completely forgotten about that detail and turned to face the older man.

Roy looked thoughtful but happy at the same time. “I’m okay with Haylock-Noriega.” He said smiling to Danny. “Angie Brielle Haylock-Noriega.” Roy sighed contented. “It sounds perfect. I love it!”

“Oh my God! We just named her!” Danny said excited.

“Oh… my Angie.” His mom said laughing as she finished her meal. “I want to go see my Angie.”

They all did.

They waited for about one more hour and then they called the NICU. They were told they could go see the baby so they spent the rest of the day with her.

During the night they received a call from the NICU informing them that the baby had now been taken off the CPAP and was breathing on her own satisfactorily. They were both beyond happy to hear such amazing news. Their baby was getting better.

The following morning, Danny and Roy were woken up by a knock on the door. It was Danny’s doctor followed by his mom. Bonnie greeted them and went to her son’s side. The doctor also greeted them and then proceeded to examine Danny thoroughly.

“You are doing really good.” The doctor said very optimistic.

“Thank you.” Danny said smiling.

“By any chance does your chest feel tender?”

“Now that you mention it…” Danny said as he placed a hand in the middle of his chest.

 “It does feel somewhat tender.”

“Well you were on hormones so there is a very very slight chance you will produce milk.”

Everybody’s eyes went wide.

“What? Really?” His mom said almost screaming.

“Wow, I guess you are the most evolved human being on the planet.” Roy said trying to get out a smile of him and it worked.

“Of course… You can’t expect less of me.” Danny said proudly and laughed.

“I don’t know what to expect from you now to be honest.” Roy said making everyone in the room laugh.

“You are doing great.” The doctor said happily. "You are good to go."

Danny was taken aback by the doctor’s statement. “You mean home?” Danny said a bit confused. He then looked at Roy giving him a sad look. Roy’s eyes also reflected sadness. Danny going home would mean they would have to leave the baby behind in the hospital.

“Yes. For you to stay here is risky. You could get an infection, among other things. The best place for you to heal is back home.”

Danny understood her words. He sighed and nodded holding back his tears.

“Alrighty, I’m gonna go sign the discharge papers and you will be good to go.” The doctor said. They both thanked her, shook her hand and then she left.

“I don’t want to leave her.” Danny couldn’t hold in his tears any longer and started crying.

Roy felt so bad for Danny, as time went by something different came up that made him upset, and rightly so. “But the doctor is right, you need to heal too so you can be there for her.”

“I know!” Danny raised his voice. “It’s just that this sucks!” He said as he wiped the tears from his face.

A couple of hours later he was given the discharge papers and was free to go home. But all Danny and Roy wanted to do was see Angie, so they made their way there to see her. They noticed how on her incubator it now said “Haylock-Noriega” which brought a smile to their faces. The doctor told them that she was doing amazing, her breathing had improved and she was eating normally. She didn't need the feeding tube anymore. She was only now staying for observation. Danny could see the improvement as well, her breathing was not as fast as it had been before and she looked better.

Without the tubes and now two days old, they could see her features better.

She was a good mix of her both progenitors. The baby looked mostly like Danny, she had the shape of his eyes, his eyebrows and his nose. The color of her eyes still looked gray, but they knew they were going to be a light color since their eyes were also light colored. When the baby smiled, they could tell Roy was definitely her father. Those pink lips and beautiful dimples that appeared when she smiled changed her expression and she looked so much like Roy then. There was no denying she was his. They stayed with her for the rest of the day. Every time machines beeped both Danny and Roy made sure everything was hooked on correctly on her.

When it was time to go, a nurse pushed the wheelchair to the car as Roy carried all of Danny’s belongings and Bonnie held some flowers and balloons brought by visitors. When Danny got to the car, the nurse first opened the passenger seat door, but as soon as Danny saw the baby’s car seat, he looked away, closed the door and opened the front door instead. The nurse and Bonnie didn’t realize what was going on but Roy did. Danny sat in the front seat, thanked the nurse for her help and then she closed the door.

Roy insisted on driving, he didn’t want to sit in the back either. Driving back home with an empty car seat was too much for Danny and him, it made them so sad.

Bonnie got to sit in the back seat. She put the flowers she had been holding on, to the baby’s car seat.

Roy started driving and that’s when Danny lost it and started sobbing.

“Dan, what’s wrong?” His mom grabbed his shoulders from the back seat.

“We were supposed to come back home as four! She needed to be here with us right now!”

Roy felt the same way, he couldn’t help silently shedding some tears as well.

“Danny it’s just gonna be a couple of days, she’s gonna be okay.” She tried to comfort him patting his shoulders. “She is where she needs to be right now so that when we bring her home, we bring back a healthy baby. What do we do if we bring her now? I’m no nurse.” Bonnie noticed Roy was also upset as well so she was now patting both of their shoulders at the same time. Roy didn’t say anything, he just silently wiped off his tears and nodded.

“Your mom is right Danny. We gotta bring her back strong and healthy.” He said trying to comfort Danny and himself.

“I hate this!” Danny was letting everything out. “She was supposed to leave with me and instead I’m leaving the hospital with just fucking balloons!”

Bonnie and Roy just let him vent. He needed to do so to calm down and so they let him.

Once they got home, the three of them shared awkward looks. Even though the baby had never even been there, her absence was very felt. Roy helped Danny get to his room and lay on his bed. Danny thanked him for helping out with setting up the crib and doing other stuff for the baby.

Once Danny was on his bed, Roy was leaving the room walking towards the door when Danny stopped him.

“Wait.” Danny said from his bed.

Roy turned around and looked at Danny. Danny looked like a small child about to cry. What Roy didn’t realize was that he had the same expression on his face as well. Roy went back to Danny’s bed and hugged him. Roy then climbed on Danny's bed and the laid facing each other. They both silently cried together until they fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> Sorry for the late update. It's my birthday weekend so I decided to to go to the jungle to see the animals and amazon communities. The internet connection sucks around here but at least is letting me update.  
> The baby has a name! I hope you liked it. Next chapter will be about the baby and also about someone we don't like that much around here.  
> As always thanks for reading! Next update will be up next weekend around this time.


	33. Home

The following day, Danny and Roy woke up really early to go see the baby in the hospital. When Bonnie woke up, they were already dressed and sitting in the kitchen having breakfast. They had received so much help from her they didn’t want to wake her up. 

As soon as they finished eating, Bonnie offered to wash the dishes so they could go see the baby right away. She wanted to see her too but she still needed to get the house ready for her. Once they were done, they went to the hospital. They already knew where she was and with each step closer to the NICU their smiles got wider and their excitement greater. Once inside, they headed to her room and their soul left their bodies when they got there. 

They saw her incubator empty.

Roy was the one who asked the nurse because Danny was frozen next to the incubator, very close to having an anxiety attack. “Excuse me, where is baby Haylock-Noriega?” Roy’s voice was so shaky and nervous.

“Oh! Your baby just graduated out of the NICU!” She said smiling.

“Oh my god!” They both let out a huge sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get notified, I was about to call you right now. She’s over here, follow me.” They eagerly followed her to a unit where there were about 4 other babies. They each lay in a regular hospital crib. She was sleeping on her back flexing her legs and sucking her thumb. Now Angie didn’t have a tube on her nose and had less electrodes on her chest than what she had before. She only wore a little bracelet on her foot that emitted a red light which they knew it was to measure her oxygen levels. They couldn’t help noticing how big the other babies looked compared to their little one. It helped them realized they were lucky she was okay for being so small. They both felt so grateful.

“She has been doing amazing. Last night, the doctor told us to periodically check if she could breathe on her own. We took off the nasal canula a couple of hours ago and she has been doing great breathing all on her own! I can tell she really wants to go home.” The nurse was happy to inform them.

“Oh my God!” Danny placed a hand on his chest. The nurse’s words sounded like music to his ears. “You are a fighter like your momma, huh?” Danny said as he leaned down closer to her and caressed her face with the back of his finger.

“You can hold her now if you want.” The nurse said to them.

Danny and Roy looked excited at each other and nodded.

“Yay!” Roy said. “You go first Danny, I’ll take pictures.”

The nurse told Danny to sit in the rocking chair and told him to take off his shirt so he could hold her skin to skin. When Danny was ready, the nurse grabbed the baby and placed her on Danny’s chest. He loved feeling her warmth, her breathing and her tiny movements against him. He was so happy. 

“My angel. You wanna come home really soon don’t you? You’ve showed everyone here you are so strong huh?” 

The tiny baby was reacting to his mom’s voice, slowly opening her eyes and looking up following Danny’s voice. 

“We’re gonna get to go home soon and we are gonna do so many things together. Okay?” 

Roy stopped taking video and pictures for a minute and got close to her. “Hey Angie, hey sweetheart!” 

Immediately the tiny baby who was looking up, looked straight at Roy with her mouth slightly open. She stared back at him blinking at first, then she lifted the middle of her eyebrows and set her eyes so full of curiosity on her father. 

“You know who I am, huh? Who’s my strong baby girl? That’s you! That’s you!” The baby was hypnotized looking at her father’s gaze, and right before she closed her eyes to go back to sleep, she gave him a smile that let Roy see his own dimples on his daughter. 

“She’s going back to sleep, I can’t believe how much she’s improved in so little time.” Roy said admiring the baby.

“Hell yeah, she’s badass.” Danny said proud.

After some minutes, the nurse helped them switch places so that Roy could get to hold her too. Roy was so excited he couldn’t stop smiling. Danny couldn’t stop smiling either, especially now that the baby was sleeping on Roy’s chest with a smile on her face which accentuated her dimples. When Roy and the baby smiled they looked exactly alike. The more Danny looked at his daughter with her dad, there was no denying she was Bianca del Rio’s daughter.

A couple of minutes later, the doctor came to inform them about the baby. He mentioned everything the nurse had just told them.

“She’s doing really good. All her lab tests came back negative. If she continues doing this well you can take her home tonight.”

Danny and Roy’s jaw dropped. They were not expecting to hear what the doctor had just said.

“Oh my god! Yes! Thank you!” Danny said with a huge smile and looked at Roy who was also so happy.

After they got to hold her and love on her for a couple of hours more, they went back home to grab some lunch and also get some last minute things ready for the baby so that they could bring her home that evening.

Danny always had the intention of taking care of her on his own. So when Roy suggested moving to his mom’s house to help him take care of the baby during the night as well, it caught him by surprise. 

Roy expressed to him his desire to be close to his daughter as much as possible. He wanted to be there for her and also for Danny. Danny had gone through so much these past few months so that his daughter could be born as healthy as possible, Roy would be forever grateful. Being there for him as well was the least he could do.

Danny talked to his mom about it and she was more than happy to let him move to her house to help out with the baby.

Roy still had the issue of his shows. He had already talked to his manager the following day the baby was born. Sadly, he was not able to postpone his shows for that week. He would have to leave for a couple of hours in the evenings of those last few shows. The idea of not being close to his newborn child made him a bit sad, he didn’t want to miss a second of her life.

Once they finished getting the house ready, Danny, Roy and Bonnie headed back to the hospital. 

Before seeing her, they met her doctor. He told them that so far all her tests were good and that she only needed to pass her car seat test to be able to go home.  Roy and Danny were ecstatic.  They saw her sleeping in a regular crib with nothing attached to her. They were so proud and relieved. The nurses gave them some space so that they could dress her up. 

They brought her a long-sleeve white onesie that Roy had made himself. Roy was a seamstress, her first piece of clothing had to be one of his creations. The onesie matched with a little pair of pants he had made as well. 

“I’ll put on her onesie.” Danny said as he unbuttoned the lower part of it. “Oh my god how do I do this?” He grabbed the onesie and looked at her trying to figure out what to do and how to start so he could get the outfit on.

“Why don’t I lift her head and you put it on?” Roy said as he lifted the baby’s head with one hand so that Danny could put the onesie on. As Danny put it on, he quickly figured it out and began putting her tiny arms very carefully through the sleeves.

The baby who had been peacefully sleeping woke up looking annoyed and squirming at the sudden interruption of her slumber.

“It’s okay baby. Oh my god! You look so cute!” Danny said as he caressed her little hand. 

Meanwhile Roy grabbed the pair of pants they brought, rolled them up and just as carefully as Danny, put them on her. They were both very proud of themselves after having dressed her up for the first time. She looked so adorable and ready to go home.

A nurse then came in and approached them. 

“It’s time for her car seat test. We will buckle her up in this seat for about an hour just to see how she responds to the car seat.”

“What are we looking for with this test?” Roy asked concerned.

The nurse then proceeded bring a seat with different types of wires on it. “We are watching out for her breathing. Some babies have trouble breathing when they are put on the seat. It’s mostly a precaution, just to make sure the car ride and the seating position don’t trigger a respiratory difficulty.”

“Oh okay. I get it.” Roy nodded understanding.

“Alright dad, can you put the baby on this seat please?”

Roy nodded and grabbed the baby carefully bouncing her and then placed her on the hospital’s car seat. Afterwards they connected a couple of wires on her and numbers appeared on the screen next to them. 

Once again Roy and Danny couldn’t help feeling so nervous. They were so close to bringing her home, she only had to pass this last test. They felt time pass so slowly. They wished they could be like her at that moment, just peacefully sleeping without caring about what was going on.

An hour later a nurse then came, checked her and informed them she had passed the car seat test.

Danny and Roy were beyond excited.

“Yay! Time to go home now!” Danny said as he picked her up and placed her towards his chest. He felt her moving around and heard her squirming as he had woken her up. But once Danny started gently bouncing up and down, she went back to sleep again.

Roy looked at her in Danny’s embrace, he still couldn’t believe he was about to take his daughter home.

“Excuse me, I have some papers for daddy to sign.” They turned to see a nurse standing in the doorway.

“Oh, okay.” Roy looked at Danny. “I’ll go.” He said and followed the nurse. 

As he was outside reading the papers, he could see Danny through a glass window. Danny was with his eyes closed, pacing around the room with the baby on his chest. Roy was happy that out of all the people in the world, he could walk through fatherhood next to him. He was sure Danny would definitely teach their daughter to be fearless and to stand up for herself and for the people she loved. That was Roy’s favorite thing about Danny.

Once he was done, they were free to go. 

Danny placed her in the car seat and Roy got to hold it as they took her out of the hospital’s nursery. Danny’s mom brought the car to the hospital’s main door and was already waiting for them outside. She was so excited to see them, they were finally going home.

Roy opened the car’s door and secured a sleeping Angie in the back seat. 

“We are going home! You are gonna sleep in the crib we got for you.” Roy was so happy.

They thanked the nurse for accompanying them and got in the car. Danny sat in the back seat next to Angie while Roy sat in the front seat next to Bonnie who was going to drive them.

Once they were on the road, Roy kept turning and looking back towards the back seat.

“How is she? Did she wake up? Should we go slower?” He asked Danny as he tried to get a glimpse of the baby.

“She’s fine. She’s still asleep.” Danny said looking at her.

Bonnie drove slowly and carefully reminiscing about the changes that would take place in both men’s lives. From now on, their life was going to be about their daughter’s many firsts. And even though they were not romantically involved, there had been a strong friendship before everything that happened and she was sure that now it would only grow even stronger. 

They were both sure they would be alright.

When they got home, Danny’s close relatives were in the house excited to see the baby. 

Roy now looked at them with an entire new perspective. Before, they were only Danny’s relatives. But now, these people were his daughter’s family as well as his own. As they held her and cradled her so loving and caring, he was happy that his daughter was going to grow up surrounded by such wonderful and loving people.

Without realizing it, it was already nighttime. 

Danny’s relatives left the house and then they got ready for their first night with the baby. The crib was on Danny’s bedroom so they would share a bed so they could tend to her immediately. When they first put her down to sleep they stood by her, just looking at her and admiring her. They couldn’t believe she was finally with them. Before going to bed they they spent about an hour on their phones and as they were getting ready to actually go to sleep, the baby woke up. They fed her, changed her and put her back to bed. Just then, they were able to go to sleep.

They were expecting to wake up during the night, what they hadn’t expected was how religiously the baby would wake up like an alarm set every two hours. 

The three of them were in the kitchen. It was a bit overwhelming to hear her cry and scream unconsolably while at the same time one of them was heating up water to warm her formula. 

“She can’t wait, she’s a foodie.” Danny said trying to calm her down.

“She eats like she’s never eaten before!” Roy said as he placed the bottle on warm water.

Once the bottle was ready, Roy sat down on the rocking chair in the living room and then Danny proceeded to place the baby in Roy’s arms so he could feed her. As soon as the bottle was inside her mouth she started sucking it with so much energy it accentuated her dimples. It surprised Roy making him smile.

“Little lady! You ate two hours ago and you are so hungry already.” Roy said as he smiled to her lovingly.

Danny leaned back on the kitchen counter with his arms crossed and looked at Roy and Angie in the rocking chair. He was so proud and happy.

When the baby finished drinking her milk, Roy grabbed her and put her on his chest with the side of her little head on his shoulder and burped her for about ten minutes. Afterwards she immediately fell asleep on his shoulder and then he put her on her crib. Danny was very impressed at how Roy could do everything so smoothly.

“Girl you are a natural.” Danny said as he got inside the bedsheets. Roy turned off the lights and went to the other side of the bed to get in. “Next time I’ll feed her and burp her.” Danny said yawning.

“Okay. See you in two hours.” Roy said as he closed his eyes and went to bed.

And just like they had predicted, two hours later the baby woke up screaming needing to be changed and fed.

Both Danny and Roy woke up. Danny went to the crib picked her up and bounced her on his chest. “It’s okay momma. It’s okay.” Danny said as he made his way to the changing table. 

Meanwhile Roy went to the kitchen to get her bottle ready.

Danny checked her and she needed a diaper change so he placed her on the changing table and tried to change her as quick as possible since she was crying and screaming. It took him a little while since it was still a skill he had just learned. Once he was done they made their way to the kitchen for her bottle. The baby was still crying looking uncomfortable.

Bonnie also went to the kitchen with them since she heard the baby cry when they passed by her room.

“How are you doing?” She said yawning and approaching Danny who was softly bouncing the baby trying to calm her down.

“We are alright.” Danny said. 

For a minute she thought Danny’s voice trembled a bit but when she looked at him, he looked fine. Bonnie got closer to the baby on Danny’s chest.

“Aww my poor Angie, you are so hungry and your pinche parents take forever to make your food.” She said as she caressed her now red cheek with her index finger. “They are so slow, aren’t they? And my baby is so hungry! My poor Angie.”

Danny and Roy shared a look and only smiled. They both knew it would be the first of many times Bonnie would be on their daughter’s side and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Once the bottle was warm, Roy gave it to Danny. He sat on the rocking chair and proceeded to feed her. The baby started sucking the bottle immediately and when she was done Danny proceeded to place her on his chest so he could burp her. At first the baby was burping fine, but after about ten minutes all of a sudden she started crying desperately as if she hadn’t eaten anything at all. Danny thought it was very odd, he could tell there was something wrong about her cries, she sounded distressed. Danny stood up, and started bouncing her pacing around the room. He couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her and Angie was screaming her lungs out at that point.

“She just ate, I changed her. I don’t know what’s wrong.” Danny said bouncing her worried.

“Do you think she has a fever?” Roy said approaching Danny worried.

“Oh god! Please no! I don’t know. I don’t know.” Danny said a nervously.

Bonnie thought it was a good time to intervene. “Give her to me for a little while Dan.” 

Danny handed the baby over to Bonnie. She placed her head on her shoulder and she started patting her back a little bit more energetically than Danny. In a matter of a minute the baby let out a loud burp.

“That was a loud one huh?” She said to the baby.

Another minute later and the baby was now calm and already closing her eyes to go back to sleep.

“Oh my god, it was only gas.” Roy said almost laughing.

Danny was leaning in the kitchen counter with one hand covering his mouth and the other one wiping tears off his face.

“Dan what’s wrong?” Roy noticed and approached him concerned, placing a hand on the back of his waist.

“I’m terrible at this. I— I— I’m not enough for her. I can’t fucking burp her right. I suck at this.” Danny said now crying and covering his face with both hands.

Roy then hugged him. “Oh no. That’s not true! You are amazing at this. Without you she wouldn’t even be here in the first place. We are both still getting the hang of things. We are learning. Your mom is a veteran, we are so lucky to have her here with us. It’s gonna be okay! We’ll get there!” Roy could feel Danny’s chest moving up and down from all the sobbing. “It’s okay.”

“I know you are right! I don’t know why this is making me so upset! I feel stupid!” Danny said as he sniffed.

“It’s okay Dan, you are just a little bit emotional. That’s all.” Bonnie tried to comfort him whispering as she bounced the now sleeping baby.

“I want some taco bell now.” Danny said between sniffs.

Roy and Bonnie laughed. They all knew everything was going to be okay.

Bonnie went with them to their room to put the baby back in the crib. Once she did that she said good night to them and left. 

As Roy was getting into the bedsheets, his phone started vibrating. He quickly checked it to see who it was and he was very surprised to see Mike’s name on the screen. It caught him completely off guard. He held his phone staring at the screen until it stopped ringing. After a couple of seconds it started vibrating again, the phone was still on his hand.

“Girl aren’t you coming back to bed? Who is it?” Danny said, already curled up inside the bedsheets with his back to him. 

Roy continued staring at the screen until it stopped ringing again. At the moment, he did not feel like talking to Mike at all. He was so focused on his daughter that Mike was not a priority for him anymore and he was okay with that. It didn’t mean that some part of him didn’t hurt not being able to talk to him. But he felt it was not the right time.

“It’s no one.” He said and then placed the phone on the bedside table and got to bed. 

He would talk to him at some point, but not at that moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I've been busy since I'm in the process of getting a new job. I'm super excited for that.
> 
> The baby is finally healthy and now home with her parents. There is only two chapters left in this story which will be about some pending discussions between the characters and also about Danny and Roy's interaction with the baby. Then we're done guys!
> 
> Next update will hopefully be up on the weekend. As always thanks for reading and commenting!


	34. Wake-up Call

About two weeks had passed since they brought the baby back from the hospital.

The first few days had been very challenging for Danny and Roy. Everything was completely new to them, changing diapers, feeding and burping the baby properly. Thankfully they had Danny’s mom and also Danny’s relatives who were in the house almost every day. They were still getting used to the routine of waking up every two hours to feed her and change her. Every morning they woke up tired but even though it had been tough to make new adjustments to their lives, seeing their daughter in their arms smile in her sleep or just watching how adorable she looked while she sneezed or how she ended up milk wasted in their lap after a feed, made it all worth it. 

Danny woke up on his own that morning.

He smiled as he opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Roy’s back next to him. He had been by his side every day since the baby was born. He took a deep breath stretching his arms towards the head of the bed. He appreciated being able to take a real deep breath now. He hadn’t been able to do that before when he was still carrying the baby. 

He pulled the sheets aside, sat on the edge of the bed and stretched. He noticed his body was not sore at all. He felt relieved that every day he felt his body getting back to what it was before having the baby. He still had a bump in his midsection, but he could feel it getting smaller by the day. He sat back again on the edge of the bed and rubbed his eyes. They felt heavy. Every night he would wake up at least three times to the cries of the baby. 

That’s when it hit him. The baby was not crying. He hadn’t woke up to the baby, he had woken up by himself.

He widened his eyes startled as he turned around and located the crib. Without wasting any time he went straight to it and placed his hands on the crib’s edge. 

_ It was empty. _

He immediately fast walked to the living room, he looked around and there was no one there. He then went to the kitchen. Inside, his mom was cutting some vegetables and right on the table there was a bouncer in which Angie was sleeping safe and sound.

Bonnie heard Danny come in and turned to see him. “Good morning Dan.”

Danny placed a hand on his chest letting out a relieved sigh as he approached the baby. He went to her, smiled and then looked at his mom.

“Good morning mom. Oh my god, I freaked out when I didn’t see her in my room.” Danny said smiling as he went towards his mom, hugged her from the back and then gave her a kiss on the cheek. 

Bonnie let out a soft laugh. "I picked her up from your room around six, gave her a bottle and she went back to sleep. Then she woke up once after that and I fed her and changed her again. It’s almost ten so she’s gonna wake up anytime soon. I have hot water ready in that pot over there.” Bonnie said pointing towards a pot filled with boiling water in the stove.

Danny hugged her tighter. “I love you mom.” He said to her ear with his eyes closed.

“I love you too Dan.” She said smiling lovingly to him. 

Bonnie knew how dedicated Danny and Roy had been towards the baby. She didn’t want to interfere that much with their dynamic of tending to the baby since they were her parents. But since they were doing an amazing job, she figured she could give them a break. That’s why she decided to take the baby with her first thing in the morning.

“Did you sleep well?” She asked Danny.

“Yes!” He said as he broke the hug and stretched his arms upwards. “I haven’t woken up by myself in so long. I think I already forgot what that even feels like.” He said going towards the table the baby was on. He carefully lifted a chair and without making much noise to not wake up the baby, he sat facing Angie. He was very pleased to see his daughter sleep so peacefully and contented. His mom had already fed her and changed her. She was wearing a short sleeved light blue onesie along with light blue mittens and socks. Her arms and legs were flexed towards her torso making her look smaller than she actually was. Her hands were slightly covering her face but even so Danny was able to see her adorable features. 

“Mom look at her, she has a double chin now.” He said excited pointing at her.

“I know! That’s awesome!”

It was a relief for Danny to see that Angie was gaining weight. On her first doctor’s appointment they had been informed she had lost some ounces. The doctor had explained to them that it was normal but Danny and Roy had got so worried to hear that, they started paying extra attention to her feeding schedule and the quantity and time of each feeding after that.  Danny then looked at the fridge. On its surface Roy had put on a chart in which they had to write the time, amount and duration of each feeding. Also how long was she burped, and at what time she had been changed and bathed. 

“Is that still necessary?” Danny said raising his eyebrows at the chart.

Bonnie shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “I don’t think so but I’m sure Roy’s still gonna want to have it up there.”

Bonnie knew Roy was a very organized and responsible person, but it still came a bit as a surprise to realize that Roy had kind of turned into what they called an ‘helicopter parent.’ Everything related to the baby needed to be in order. Every day he bought whatever it was that was needed for her, he did her laundry, took her for walks along with Sammy and Dede who had moved in with them too, he bathed her and he put her to bed every night. 

Danny was very grateful for his presence but he could already tell their parenting styles were different.

Danny was also very responsible regarding anything related to the baby. But he was still a bit more chill about certain things. For instance, the baby had to be fed every two hours. Most of the time Angie would wake up on her own. The times she didn’t, Danny would wait about fifteen or twenty minutes more for her to wake up on her own before he made the decision to wake her. On the other hand Roy would wake the baby at the exact time she needed to be fed, sometimes he would wait ten minutes at the most. He was a bit more strict in that aspect.

Danny didn’t mind since he knew having her on a schedule was good for all of them, but he couldn’t help wondering if maybe in the future they would have different approaches about other different topics. He didn’t think much of it then, they would figure it out once they got there.

Danny and his mom were talking when the kitchen door opened revealing a wide eyed Roy looking around the room.  Once he saw the baby on the table he let out a relieved sigh and walked inside.

“Good morning! It was odd not to wake up to Angie.” Roy said as he went to greet Bonnie and Danny.

“I know right? My mom picked her up from the room really early. I woke up on my own! Can you believe that?” Danny said laughing.

“I know! Me too! It’s been a while since that happened for us.” Roy said excited. He then looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s 10:10 it’s time to wake her up for her feeding.” 

Danny pouted. “Aww… but look at her, she’s sleeping so peacefully I don’t want to wake her up.” He said bitting his lower lip. “Let’s wait a little bit and if she doesn’t wake up in the next five minutes we’ll wake her up.” Danny said very optimistic.

“Yeah! Breakfast is ready so we should eat before she wakes up. I’ll put her bottle in hot water so we are ready in case she wakes up.” Bonnie said already serving the food.

Roy widened his eyes at Danny and then at his mom and sighed. “Alright. Five more minutes, just because I’m starving and that smells amazing.” He said going next to Bonnie to help her bring the plates to the table.

Once all the food was served they sat together and had breakfast. About ten minutes into their meal, they could see the baby randomly flinch, almost waking up. They thought it was so funny and adorable to see her tiny movements. 

“I should wake her up now.” Roy said as he went to wash his hands on the sink and brought the bottle with him back to the table.  Roy then proceeded to gently grab the baby from her seat. That’s when she woke up and started crying and screaming complaining about the sudden interruption of her slumber. 

“Awww…” Danny said pouting. He hated listening to her cry. All he wanted to do when she cried was comfort her and cuddle her back to sleep. Bonnie also felt bad to hear her cry, that's why she decided to head out to do some laundry and let her parents take care of her.

Roy then placed the crying baby on the crook of his elbow softly bouncing her and placed the bottle on her mouth. She immediately started to calm down as she sucked her formula. She slowly opened her eyes as she ate and once they were fully opened, she stared back at Roy.

“Good morning little lady.” Roy said smiling to her.

The baby frowned back at him, opening and closing her eyes several times. 

“Did you sleep well today?” He asked her. “You look annoyed this morning. Are you mad that I woke you up?” 

The baby continued frowning back at him as if she understood the entire situation.

“You are mad huh? But do you realize what time it is? It’s already time to rise and shine sweetheart, and you need to eat your breakfast. How do you intend conquering the day without breakfast? It’s like waking up and not having coffee in the morning. Do you know what coffee is? It’s like a super formula but for adults. Yes it is. It’s so good isn’t it?”

Once she heard her dad’s voice the baby’s expression softened. 

Roy loved talking to Angie. He loved the way she looked back at him with those gorgeous curious green eyes. Whenever she woke up, first she would always frown at him upset. Roy would tease Danny telling him she got that from him since he was also not a morning person. But afterwards when he started talking to her, he could see her focus her eyes on his own, paying him her full attention. 

Once she was done, Roy burped her and continued talking to her. She would usually remain awake for a couple of minutes before going back to sleep. She looked around her as she tried to lift her head to explore her surroundings. Danny couldn’t resist any longer and went towards Roy who gently handed the baby over to him.

“Good morning mija!” Danny said supporting her head and neck with one hand and the rest of her body with the other, bouncing her gently in front of him. “You finished your formula? Are you ready to start your day now?” Danny said baby talking to her as he put her on his chest with her face close to his shoulder patting her back. 

Danny loved having her in his arms. During the first week the baby spent at home, Danny wouldn’t let her go, he held her all the time. Everywhere he went Danny held his daughter, it almost seemed as if she was his doll. While he watched TV in the living room or while he ate, he had her on his lap. Roy and Bonnie tried to to tell him that it was better if he let the baby sleep in her bouncer or in the crib but Danny wouldn’t have it any other way. It wasn’t until one night when he was feeding her, he was so exhausted that he was falling sleep and consequently relaxed the arm that was holding her for little bit. He might have fallen asleep for about a second, but it was enough see her turn sideways about to fall from his lap. He immediately woke up startled, held her close to him and went to get Roy.

That day he learned his arms would not always be the safest and so he started letting her rest on her crib or bouncer more. He knew he was not the perfect parent, but he was definitely trying and doing his best every day so he was okay with that.

“You eat so much mija, we are running out of formula.” Danny said to her as he rubbed her back up and down.

“I’ll go get some on my way back from rehearsal.” Roy said as he stood up and picked up the dishes from the table. “Or you know what?” He turned around while making his way to the sink. “Why don’t I come back and we go together? It looks like it’s gonna be nice out.”

“That sounds good.” Danny then grabbed the baby from her armpits. His hands were big enough he was able to hold the back of her head with his fingers. “Does it sound good mama? Do you wanna go shopping?” 

At the change of position the baby flexed her arms and legs. She was wide awake staring back at her dad with those greenish eyes that were just like Danny's.

“Yes you do wanna go out shopping huh?” Danny said putting her back on her bouncer. “I need to change. I haven’t showered in two days.” Danny said laughing and scratching his head at the same time.

Roy looked back at him, frowned and crunched his lips. “Gross.”

Danny widened his eyes at him and let out a mischievous smile. “What? Bitch! You haven’t showered in two days either so don’t come at me saying gross when you’re smelling as bad as me!”

Roy started laughing his ass off. “I know! I know! Hurry so I can take a shower too!” 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Once they got themselves and her stuff ready, they went to a wholesale store.  They got everything they needed to restock the baby’s things and they also got some things Bonnie had asked for. 

Angie behaved wonderfully. She spent most of the time sleeping, only waking up once to which Danny proceeded to change her and then she went back to sleep as if nothing had happened, letting her parents continue with their shopping trip. 

Once they had everything, they went back to the car and headed back home.

They were almost close to Bonnie’s house when Roy suddenly realized he had completely forgot to buy one item.

“Oh! Shit!” Roy said rolling his eyes.

“What? What happened?” Danny had been checking his phone, he turned to see him.

“I forgot to get potty pads for Sammy and Dede.” 

“Oh damn… What if we use Angie’s diapers?” Danny said laughing teasing him.

It got a smile out of Roy. He then widened his eyes remembering something. “I know! Why don’t we go to my place? I’m pretty sure I have a brand new box over there.”

“Oh, okay.” Danny said as he looked at the back seat to check on the baby and resumed looking at his phone.

They got to Roy’s house in a matter of minutes. As they were making their way through the driveway the baby started fussing, she then started screaming demanding their attention.

“You know what? Why don’t you go in? I got her. I don’t want to take her out of her car seat, she probably just needs her bottle and then she’ll go back to sleep.” Roy said as he went to the back seat and started getting her bottle ready.

“Alright. Where are the potty pads?” Danny said getting out of the car.

“They are in the laundry room, in the cabinet below the sink.” Roy said as he got the keys from the house from his pocket and handed them over to Danny.

“Okay, I’ll be right back.” Danny said as he received the keys and went to his once doorstep. He opened the door and went inside. He didn’t close the door behind him since he wasn’t going to take long. He hadn’t been there in a while. The last time he had been there was for the baby shower. 

He was fast walking to the kitchen and just as he finished passing by the living room, he stopped in his steps. For a minute he thought he had seen someone sitting on the sofa. He thought it was his imagination but he still gave a few steps back to double check just in case. To his shock, there was a man standing in the middle of the living room next to some small pieces of luggage next to him. 

“Who the fuck are you?!” Danny said almost yelling at him.

The man didn’t have to reply. Danny focused his eyes on him and was quickly able to realize it was someone he knew. He took a deep breath and relaxed a little.  “God! You fucking scared me! What are you doing here?” Danny said very annoyed and relieved at the same time.

Mike gave a few steps towards Danny. “Hi Dan. I came looking for Roy. He’s not here… Is he at your place?” 

Danny opened his mouth taking in air to tell him off. But as he stared back at him, he could tell Mike’s appearance had changed. His hair and his beard were longer. By the way he was standing he looked afraid and insecure, he was opening and closing his fists on his sides nervously biting his lower lip.

Last time Danny had seen Mike things had got ugly, so he didn’t want to waste his time or energy on him. He’d rather have Roy deal with him. 

Danny rolled his eyes and sighed turning around to get Roy. “He’s in the car, I’ll go get him.”

“Wait! I also need to talk to you.” Mike said raising his voice a little.

Danny stopped in the middle of his steps, and with his back still turned back at him he rolled his eyes again and then let out a small sarcastic laugh. “Didn’t we do this last time?” Danny said in a serious tone, his patience running thin. “Like I said, I’m gonna get Roy.” Danny turned around again to leave.

“I wanted to apologize for what I said to you.” Mike said quickly trying to make him stop.

Mike's statement did make Danny stop. “Alright…” He then turned around and placed both hands on the sides of his waist leaning towards a side in a challenging stance. “For which of all of those things you said to me that day are you going to apologize for?” Danny said narrowing his eyes very annoyed at him.

“For all of them. Everything I said, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have said any of those things.”

“Bitch! You went to my own house to speak shit about me! How dare you?” Danny said pointing his finger at him, his patience was now out the window.

“I was hurt! How would you feel if someone did this to you?”

“Look! I really wanted to understand you! Specially because you mean a lot to him.” Danny said pointing towards the front door. “That night I tried talking to you, I explained everything that happened. I said I was sorry! I didn’t know what else to tell you! And you know what? I can take anything thrown at me but you wanted me to tell Roy my daughter wasn’t his when you knew there was a chance she was! What the fuck man?!”

“Does Roy know? That I said that to you?” Mike said nervously, bringing a finger towards own mouth.

Danny let out an angry sigh. “He doesn’t know you said that…” Danny said in a very serious tone. “I was gonna tell him, and I told him most of what you said to me. He even got a plane ticket to go talk to you in New York.”

Mike seemed shocked to learn that. “What? But I didn’t know! He didn’t tell me he was there.”

“He didn’t end up going. The baby was born that day. He _is_ her father you know.” Danny emphasized his statement.

Mike widened his eyes. “Oh wow… he’s a dad now.” Mike said smiling but looking sad at the same time. “He got what he wanted.”

There was a small and uncomfortable pause between the two.

Mike then shook his head quickly and looked at Danny straight in the eyes. “Danny please, I’m here to ask you… No! To beg you! Please don’t tell Roy what I said about the baby.”

Danny looked back at Mike in disbelief. “You wanted me to fucking tell him she was not his!!”

_“What?”_

Danny and Mike turned their eyes towards the entrance. Roy was standing in the doorway holding the baby on his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terribly sorry for the late update! I got a new job and it's been very hard for me to find the time to update.
> 
> Danny and Roy are doing alright with the baby. It's not easy to adjust to life with a newborn but they are getting there. Mike has entered the picture once again, and the person that gets affected the most by his presence is Roy. How will Roy deal with him and also with what he said?
> 
> Next chapter will be the last chapter of this story. I can't promise an update next week because of work, but if it isn't posted by then, then it should be up some time during the following week. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has been reading, following and leaving comments on this story! We are almost done.


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